Blood of Blue
by Kknd2
Summary: if the advantage of biological mechs is evolution, what happens when it starts to effect the pilot? Where does it lead? And what if Gendo was not a heartless demon? AU, R&R please, Prereaders needed. Expository chapters removed in favor of plot.
1. Chapter 1: To start at the end

Blood of Blue

A Evangelion Fanfiction work,

By:Brian Funk

The following work is based on Evangelion, all copyrights to it are their respective owners, but the rights to this story are mine, so long as they respect that, I hope they will trust me to respect theirs. We all know why this site is here, why this is posted on this site, and the copyrights and credit belong as they always have.

* * *

"Did you know that we didn't always have blue cells? Hard for your generation to believe, but there was a time when humanity had to do without both Blue cells and S2 organs, much less control over AT Fields."

"Then, teacher, why haven't we been told?" one of her young charges asked.

"It is a hard burden to bear, knowledge of the past, of the darkness in our history. We choose to tell you this now, because you are all of the same age as the first primogenitors,-" She continued

"The Three?" another eager student questioned.

"Yes, the very same. Though people often forget to speak of the rest of those brave few who had to weather the storm of rebirth. In a few days, we will take our trip to the monument, and you can all read the names, the names of all those who paid the price of this progress."

"So, tell us what we haven't been told yet." one of the ruffians in the back snorted.

"Mankind, so you have been told, evolved from animals, this is true, but the source of life on earth, and the source of our rebirth, have been hidden. All life sprang from one of two sources, Adam, and Lilith. On earth, Lilith created life, life with the fruit of knowledge, known as the Brain." She explained while showing images on the main holodisplay.

"but where did they come from?"

the teacher simply smiles. "We don't know, we assume from beyond our solar system, created by a being or beings we would call god, for their power and knowledge is so far beyond ours. Regardless of where they came from, Lilith came here first, and began to bring forth life, and advance that life. But at some point, Adam came to this system as well, and the world Adam set upon crashed into this one. Part of the world was thrown out, becoming Luna. But Adam and Lilith were never meant to land upon the same world."

"Why not? If one held the fruit of life, and the other the fruit of knowledge, wouldn't that make the best life if combined?" a student she knew was aiming for a career in biology spoke up.

"We are not entirely sure, but the theory I believe is that, whoever the creators where, they didn't want to make life that could compete with them. By making Adam and Lilith born life lack one of the two fruits, they prevented a rival from being born. When either of them came to a world, they would mark it, and the other would avoid that place. Where children of Adam and children of Lilith meet, there is conflict."

"Why?" a girl in the front row asked innocently, her voice full of curiosity

"Children of Adam have the gift of unity, they are of one mind, each knows all that the others know. But the price for such a unity is their lack of individuality" The classes Teacher moved to the side while a series of pictures of the third though 10th angels, all in two dimensions, where displayed for the class.

"But the children of Adam you showed us, no two were alike!" The junior biologist cried out incredulusly.

"Physically, yes. But mentally there is no way for them to tell where one ends, and the other begins. Physically the fruit of life makes them incredibly powerful."

"Is this Unity like the link all humans share?"

the teacher giggles at the statement, before realizing that this generation has never been without it.

"Could you imagine being without the link? Sure, there are some born with a greater or lesser sensitivity to it, but humans used to be totally without it."

Murmurs sweep the class as they try and imagine life without knowing that others were out there, without the basic sense of community and care for their fellows.

"My generation will be the last one to have known loneliness on the scale it was once possible to feel. The feeling that other humans do not care if you live or die, the fear that you are of no worth to any other human being. Be glad that you will not experience it, but you need to know that it was real."

The silence in the classroom is profound as even the most blunt of students can sense the level of emotion behind the teachers words. When the silence breaks, it is done by the schools bell, sounding the end of classes for the day.

"Right, tomorrow we start on the course of study, the events leading up to Third Impact, and the Rebirth. I encourage you to talk with your older family members, and talk about things."

As the students start to file out, the class representative lingers in the doorway, feeling the tempest of emotions boiling in the teachers mind.

"Don't worry, We know you can tell us more about the truth then any of the other teachers here Professor Ibuki."

"Thanks, and the bell rang, so its just Maya now." The now elderly, though physically nearly the same as in her prime, barring the longer hair, Technician turned teacher quipped.

* * *

Author Notes:

I am setting the ground work to this fic as you read this, the next few segments are likely to consist of such works, so if your waiting for things to start rolling, its likely to be a little while.

Time lining takes a while to complete, so go read some other fic for a while :)


	2. Chapter 2: Blue Cells and EUD

Chapters Removed

Several chapter(s) have been removed due to the plot starting. As such access to these materials is likely to disrupt readership and drive off potential readers. This chapter's material is now considered to be production materials, Requests for it will be answered, but as posting it would disrupt the flow of narrative, it will not return until the "series" ends, however it does so.


	3. Episode 00: A Necessary Act

Episode 00: A Necessary Act:

In the Office of NERV Supreme Commander, two men, one old, and the other weary, discuss the fate of humanity. A simple piece of white paper on the desk breaks up the black and red of the room.

"So you need to call him back after all these years." Kozo felt his age when he was called up at this early in the morning. But when he decided to get things started early, The teacher had come.

"You think I want too?" Gendo growled back.

"You never did tell me why you pushed him away in the first place, you know." 'Even though it was I who could never ask, it was just too painful.'

"Him. Her _precious_ Shinji. It's _his_ fault." His charge sulked back.

"Tell me Gendo, how precisely was it his fault?" 'How could a child, barely able to write his own name, have caused this?'

"For him, for him she went against my wishes, for her precious Shinji, she took risks. I asked, I ordered, I _begged_ her not to risk herself." Even after a decade, the desperation of that argument slipped through in his tone.

"Yui is headstrong, is that not part of why you loved her?"

"Yes, yes it is... But that day, I gave her the choice. Him or me. Go through with the test, risking herself for him, and I would never forgive her. I even threatened to divorce her." The manic tone in Gendo's voice was a sound no one other then Kozo had heard in years, and even then only when he was drunk.

"She knew you could not go through with it." 'Yui knew him better then he knew himself, better then anyone knew him.'

"Yes, for all that I can deceive others, I just could not deceive her. She asked me point blank if I could actually go through with my threat. I... Maybe if I could have stepped up and lied to her, just that once, for her own good..."

Kozo considered his one-time pupil. 'This really is placing him through the wringer... is he even fit to make command decisions right now? I better get to the topic at hand, before he starts down that path again.'

"So what _will_ you say?"

Gendo just took off his glasses, rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration, sighed., and said,

"I just don't know, I spent the last four hours trying to write this damn thing, and I can't figure out how to say what I need to say without anything else."

"Say you need him. Say there is something only he can do, and that you're sorry. Say that you were wrong. Say anything! The fate of humanity rides on this stupid letter, Ikari!" Kozo was normally a calm man, but this was just beyond his ability to understand, much less deal with rationally.

"You think anything I could say would make a difference now?" Gendo rose to his feet, clutching his glasses in his right fist "You have seen the profile, he is a god damned mess, Sensei! No friends, no joy, no hope!" the sound of the Glasses shattering on the window's reinforced panes across the vast dark room was like a gunshot in a closet "Those damn idiots barely even interacted with him at all!" The sight of Gendo Ikari snapping was a terrific thing, in the original sense of the word, "to inspire terror". Panting at the exertion, Gendo Ikari, the Supreme Commander of NERV, the man who had not flinched at the sight of Second Impact, the one who stood up to the secret masters of the world unbending, collapsed into his chair, spent.

"Then just ask him to come." 'What else is there to say? If Shinji does not come, and an Angel arrives, humanity, the whole world, and all life on it, is dead.'

* * *

In the tiny lab accessible only from his office was a bed. Before crawling into it, Gendo clutched pen and paper. With the pale blue light of the Stasis LCL in tank as his only illumination, he scrawled a single word on the piece of paper. "Come."

As he lay there, trying to sleep, he looked up at the tank holding the final part of his plan. 'If I did not know, I could imagine Yui is right there, sleeping next to me...' Sleep came at last to the troubled man behind the Graven image that is Commander Gendo Ikari.

The next day, Shinji's Sensei's home.

There is something to be said for the heady mix of emotions running through Shinji's mind as he read and reread the letter. 'Come.' A single word after ten years. Even when some friend of mother's invited both him and his father to pay their respects at her grave, he did not come. Of all the things Gendo could have sent, he sent a handwritten paper note clipped to travel information, with a single word written on it by hand. 'Why does it look like that though?' as he examined the single kanji, he realized that it was Scrawled, written by someone either too tired to focus, too busy to bother, or too emotional to do it right. 'Tired? No, he had time to write this. Busy? Like he would have time for me.' but for some reason he simply could not comprehend, that last possibility 'Too emotional to do it correctly' came unbidden to his mind. 'Does he hate me that much? But then why have me come?' No where in his waking mind could he consider the possibility that the emotions might be anything else but hate, disdain, disappointment, or something similar. Wrapped up in the meaning of the note, Shinji would not notice the picture attached to the back until the next day.

'But I have no choice, Sensei told me about how he apparently does something important enough to have his own goons.'

He looked about the tiny room that consisted of his life. It was a simple spare room, sitting unused and uncared for when he finally had enough and was taken in. 'Like me...' His few things easily piled on the desk, school books, and the only thing he had left to connect himself with _her_, the ancient SDAT player he had picked up out of the trash where his father had thrown it in disgust a few days after _she_ died... For some reason the tape inside contained nothing but classical tracks he somehow recognized, though he knew not from where.

' I can just put it all in my backpack.' But his gaze fell on the only other thing that he owned with significance to him, his other source of comfort. 'I guess I better bring that too.' The cello his Sensei had bought for him, the only real attempt to reach out to him ever made. It held a duel place in his heart. It was a symbol that he could have value, but for all the comfort it brought him, it brought the pain of knowing that his Sensei would never get closer to him then that.

As his Sensei watched the boy leave, a sigh came without warning. There was no chance that Shinji would come back, not if _that man_ had called. 'He turned a lifeless little room into a little pocket of lively joy. Now all thats left to mark his passage is that the room is not empty. But maybe my life is better just for having met him?'

* * *

Author Notes:

This is how Blood of Blue begins The Series proper is divided into episodes, and material for each has a basic outline which requires filing in. This outline is typically only about 1-3 paragraphs long per episode, and 00 is likely to be the shortest episode posted.

The legendary SDAT of Shinji Ikari, always there, his little escape from reality. But what if it was far more important then in the series? What you, Gendo Ikari, and Kozo now know that Shinji does not realize, is that he remembers that music from before he was born. Yui is a brilliant person, but she was willing to invest in a little silly superstition for her child, her symbol that life would continue after the apocalypse of Second Impact. FYI, Sensei is intentionally as vague as possible, there is no need for more.

Episode 01 is currently under construction and refinement. Prereaders are desperately needed to expedite the process. Episode 02 is also in the beginning stages of construction. I flatly maintain that I will not post work below a basic standard of quality for the actual Episodes, this is part of the delay.


	4. Episode 01:Life finds a way

Episode 01: Life finds a way/The _Price of God_ –

Disclaimer: You should not need one, Fan fiction by its very nature means that we can not, and should not, claim credit for the basis of the work. To take compensation for such tributes to those we consider masters is to defecate on ourselves and all we hold dear. Know then that I refuse to accept any such compensation, even given freely or in jest. We hold this truth to be self evident, that all fan fiction is equally worthless by the literal definition of that term, it can not be traded for a monetary value.

Formatting information:

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

{Truth} (See the Author Notes if this confuses you.)

**** = Scene change

* * *

Outside of Tokyo 3, like outside of many cities, lie several smaller way station towns. It is in one of these that Shinji's train stopped. Faced with the prospect of waiting for some unknown woman, the one who's picture adorned the post card that he had paid so little attention to before, the young boys mind wandered to the subject. 'Just what do I know about her?'.

Psychology not being a strong study point for Shinji, he had only the small amount of information located in the letter and the picture to go on. "Captain Katsuragi, Operations Director, NERV HQ." the blacked out age and weight made him smile a bit , allowing a tiny moment of appreciation for the absurd. 'Is she really seven hundred years old or something? This is the same black out as on the letter.' the letter itself had been useless, since everything on it was blacked out except for the directions to this station and the require time of arrival. There was no way of telling what his father wanted of him. ' He must want something...' Turning back to the picture of Misato's dark purple hair to avoid such a painful topic, he could not understand how he was supposed to recognize a Captain in some kind of Organization from what had to be a picture taken when she was on vacation. 'No one dresses like... that... on a daily basis.'. Registering the complaint of his shoulder about the back packs strap digging into it, he set it down, then settled down himself. 'Nearly half an hour to go. I don't know anything about this area, best to wait.' He did not consciously consider the absence of traffic, quiet solitude being his preference.

* * *

On a deserted street, a boy stands wearing a white shirt and black slacks by a pay phone. Placing the receiver back on the hook, he sighs, shakes his head of white hair and asks "why did I come here?" suddenly Kaworu sees a vision of another street superimposed on this one. A street nearly identical to the one he is on, only with a boy he both knows as Shinji and has never met before standing before the phone. In an instant the vision is gone. The word "unique" slips from his mouth.

* * *

On a street near the outskirts of Tokyo-3 stood Shinji, his effort to call for help having failed. The booming sound from behind him caused him to turn away from the booth, and for an instant, he saw something that had to be an illusion. Standing in the street, A boy dressed as he was, but with green eyes. A Girl dressed in a school uniform, pale as the moonlight, with azure hair and red eyes. A girl his age dressed in a yellow dress, with red clips in her fiery hair, and eyes as blue as the ocean. But what confirmed the illusionary nature of the vision was the last two figures, a boy dressed the same as the first, skin and hair as pale as bleached silk his crimson eyes mirrored by what could only be a pair of red butterfly wing shapes behind him as if attached to his back. Flanking him to complete the unreal scene stood another of the Blue haired girl, but with Glowing Blue wing shapes poised as if sprouting from her back. The five seemed to be looking at him in curiosity, but when he blinked, the now empty street mocked him, daring him to question reality. Shinji had no time to consider what he had seen, for at that moment the life of a UN pilot ended when his damaged VTOL came crashing down barely a block away.. Reflexively flinching away from the stricken VTOL and turning to run, panic took hold of the boy as his blue eyes registered the like colored car flying towards him. The screech of protesting tires filled the street, the dark blue vehicle coming to a halt in front of him, and a women in a black dress with matching glasses stepped out. "No time to be formal, get in!"

* * *

'She makes no sense. She works with father, but she dresses like this, then sends that post card...' as Shinji rode in the car away from the monster which had so nearly ended his life, his mind retreated to matters he could at least comprehend. While before her driving had frightened him, once clear of danger she had settled into the kind of driving expected of a racer, fast but controlled. Eyes drifting down to the packet she had told him to get out of the glove box, he started to read it again. 'It makes no sense, what does father's work have to do with that... thing? What could he possibly need me to do? Nothing in here makes any sense, its all some scientific jargon about DNA and something called metaphysical biology. Sure it claims NERV exists to protect mankind, but it never goes into _what_.'

The jolt of the car abruptly coming to a halt jarred him from his thoughts, and he looked up. Misato was leaning out of the car, having produced a pair of binoculars from god knows where. Following her line of sight, he saw her looking back the way they had come, as a bunch of indistinct dots flew away in all directions. "Oh hell, they must be desperate." Suddenly dropping the binoculars and twisting back into the car as she spoke she screamed "N2 Mine! Keep your mouth open!" and barreled into him. His eyes closed by reflex, so he did not see the flash, but he could feel the heat on his arms. Then a force that felt like the hand of an irate god smashed him into Misato and the world tumbled.

Recovering from being tumbled, and landing upside-down with the kids head clutched to her chest, Misato crawled out of the car. As she helped Shinji to his feet, she inadvertently voiced her thoughts.

"JSSDF Idiots! Using a N2 mine, without even an evacuation signal, how many civilians did they just kill?" seeing the poor child pale she realized she had spoken aloud. 'Oh damn, well no point denying it now.'

* * *

As they headed for their destination at a much more sedate pace then before, the fender simply taped back into place and "requisitioned" batteries fueling the car, Misato could not stop her racing thoughts. ' I only had a few payments to go and now the repairs will set me back again! My dress is ruined, my favorite dress. I just had to wear it to impress the kid, and he acts like theres nothing to see.' In the mind of the passenger ran a similar monologue. 'Her car is a wreck, and she must enjoy driving it too... but why did she wear such a...' let it not be said that Shinji is a complete prude, but he was so uncomfortable with others that lust without an alloy of anxiety was unknown to him. 'Dress.' he had simply been unable to find a word that expressed both emotions at once.

"What exactly does my father do at NERV?"

It takes this kind of total ignorance to distract a driver of Misato's skill from her task, and the car jerked in response.

"You mean you don't know?" She actually took her eyes off the road to stare at him in disbelief.

She felt immediate guilt for her sudden outburst when she saw the boy cringe and noted how his body tensed up, as if he expected physical violence.

"Sorry... I just... I don't speak with him."

For Shinji, this was the limit of his courage, a hard fought battle with his own fears just to speak. It evidently showed on his face, as the Captain softened.

"Sorry, its just that everyone in Tokyo 3 knows the name Ikari,." 'and what it means to fear the name of a man you've never met.'

* * *

The trip into and across the Geo Front via the linear train had left Shinji speechless at the scale of accomplishment involved in the place, elated that such a thing was possible, but the other voice in his mind simply pointed out with scorn. {All this, and what have you accomplished?} following the captain like a dog on a leash, he was lost in a world of his own problems, but eventually the feeling they had traveled here before drew his attention back to the world outside, a world of seemingly endless escalators.

"Didn't we pass by this area before?" Shinjis voice held no accusation, which actually frustrated Misato more. Faced with yet another reminder that she did not belong at HQ 'well, not _yet_' she reminded herself. Misato finally decided to just find an elevator.

* * *

Those in the Control room of NERV watched as the Fourth Angel, dubbed Sachiel, stood at ground zero of the explosion. The creature was regenerating, and had been doing so for quite a while now.

Kozo was the first to speak. "We are running out of time. Rei is in no condition to pilot, not after what she went through." He tried to remain calm.

Ikari's reply did not put him at ease. "The situation is in hand. Sub commander, you have the bridge." The man then stood up and headed for the elevator installed behind his desk, the one keyed only to him.

* * *

In Evangelion 01's cage, A chime and announcement rang out.

"Would the head of the Science division please report to the Operations Director's current location."

Looking up from the damage repair display, Ritsuko groaned. 'Great, the Maintenance head is not even assigned to the base yet, so I get tapped to supervise the armor repairs, and now Misato is lost again!' Turning to the Assistant head of the Evangelion maintenance and armor repair team, she explained to him his responsibility.

"Mr. Horaki, until that idiot boss of yours shows up, or a higher ranking member of the staff says otherwise, you are now leading the maintenance and repair of Units 00 and 01." seeing the man gulp, but nod she concluded. "Get Unit 01 back to battle readiness, I don't care how, just do it as fast as possible, and then have everyone clear out of the bay." Without even bothering to watch for his reaction, she strode from the Eva bay for the elevators, lab coat swirling behind her.

The clicking of the elevator ticking off floors was so regular that the music in the elevator could have its BPM read by it. The doors opened after an abrupt stop, and Misato was essentially pushed back into the car by Ritsuko.

"Do you realize just how much pressure we're under?" Before Misato could even finishing opening her mouth to reply, her friend had hit the correct floor number, and turned to look at Shinji, who had simply shrunk into the corner, clutching the green pamphlet in front of him like it was some kind of ward against the world.

"This is the boy?" even as she spoke, Ritsukos mind processed. 'Lets hope maintenance has time to drain the LCL suspension before we get there.'

Shinji immediately disliked the tone of the question. 'You ask about objects that way, not people.' Another voice spoke, one that had been such a part of his existence that he did not remark on it other then to note its absence. 'You are not worth as much as a person, so this is appropriate.' Without conscious thought the child Ikari nodded as Misato answered Ritsuko. "Yes, according to the reports he is the Third Child." while the two officers conversed, the elevator music's guitar strummed, and the floors ticked by Shinji puzzled. 'Third?' {Then you are not unique, there are others who would do it better.}

* * *

In the darkened room, one massive enough to contain the forty meter tall scale of an Evangelion with room to maneuver it, there was silence. Then Ritsuko turned on the light, and Shinji was confronted with a face that had haunted his rare Night-Terrors, if he could but remember them. Only one thing could send him into screaming paroxysms of fear without him remembering and dreading it. The purple armored visage of the end of his life. "A face?" {A face you deny knowing.}

"This is why you are here, this is the Ultimate Decisive Battle Weapon, Evangelion." Ritsuko announced it with as much gravitas as she could with the pilot candidate poised in such a silly flinching position. The poor kid actually looked back into the pamphlet. She corrected his misunderstanding. "You wont find anything on Eva in there, it is too important."

"I am supposed to pilot this thing?" The disbelief most expected in his voice is absent, replaced with a feeling of pleading ignorance.

"Correct." Only one man in existence had that voice, and all eyes rose past the Horn on Unit 01 to Gendo Ikari, poised behind glass overlooking the bay.

"This is why you called for me?" {Of course, you are a commodity like any other part, when you need one you order it.}

"You can't be serious!" Misato interrupted. "It took Rei months to sync with Unit 00, and we barely have hours!" The savvy Captain knew that HQ branch had a reputation for playing long odds to get results. 'This is Insane!' Despite her queries, she was as ignored as Ritsuko.

"All that is required is he sit in the seat." 'but of course you didn't know that.'

"You just expect me to...to... do this?" {You have nothing, who are you to question him?} A blast rocked the cage, rattling the lighting, and provoking Gendo to glance up. 'I have no time left for this, either he will pilot by his own choice, or I will make it for him.'

"If you will, say so, if not then leave!" The shudders of the two women, even though he had not spoken to them or even acknowledged their presence in any way, were as classically conditioned as Shinji's flinching.

"I... I cant..." {You can. You will. You need this.} The expression on Gendo's face did not change. 'You can, you will, and even if I must tear up your heart I will make you do it.' Deeper in his mind though, another line of thought, long reduced to a whisper now spoke up again. 'It is not only his heart that this will rend.' The commander turned to the bank of monitors.

"The Spare is unusable, get Rei." 'Just enough disdain, just the right balance of uncaring coldness and hidden fury.' The iron trap of Gendo's mind slammed shut.

"Can she pilot in her condition?" Kozo knew what would come next, so well he could think it before Gendo could speak. 'She isn't dead yet. Right Ikari?'

"She is not dead yet."

Having seen her condition if only briefly, Misato knew the girl would not, could not, win a fight with an angel. At the same time Shinji's mind echoed an overlapping chorus of thoughts. 'She is not dead yet.' {But she might be, thanks to you.} 'The Spare is unusable' {Worthless, without a reason to exist.}

"Rei?" Gendo's voice was quiet, a mirror of his voice when he spoke to his son.

"Yes?" a voice, soft as the rustle of a ravens feathers.

"The spare refuses, you will do it again." 'I need that extra leverage, that extra little bit of guilt. It all rides on this.' Fear is not unknown to Gendo Ikari, but knowing that everything hangs on a single desperate throw of the dice like this, even he could not avoid the emotion's clammy grip.

"Yes." No active emotion, but Ritsuko knew her inflection. 'She knows she cant win, that she is failing her beloved commander. Of course she will die for him. _Puppet_.'

As Shinji stood brooding, Ritsuko called out to the technicians, instructing them to begin the technical job of swapping the software that would allow Rei to pilot Unit-01, while the operations director simply stood, unable to figure out how to respond. Then the doors opened, and Rei was wheeled in on the stretcher. Misato quickly snapped out of her pause in thought at the sight. 'Dear God, she wasn't nearly that bad when I last saw her...' the words and facts clicked in her mind. "you will do it _again_." 'He sent her out already. Demon.'

As Rei visibly struggled to rise from the stretcher, clad in the parts of her plug suit that were not cut away so that her wounds could be bound, the tally of Injuries in the Majors mind grew. 'Even more of her ribs, at least half a dozen are broken, her left arm must have taken something serious, and that's the binding for compound fractures. Damn it, she had just gotten to the point where she didn't need a covering over that eye, and those are burn compresses...'

To the mind of Shinji Ikari, it was more immediate.. As he looked into her eyes, the pain in them such that his mind made the connection to the illusion in the street earlier, and it simply did not rate high enough to notice. 'She cant even walk!' {and yet she will die because you refuse to sit in a seat, you may as well be holding the knife.} 'No, father-' The thought was interrupted by the shaking of the base as another explosion rocked it, tipping Rei's balance toward the abyss, a thirty meter drop ahead.

For all his failings, His nature could not be destroyed, only buried into inaction. Thus his body responded without his mind ordering it, rushing over to grasp Rei around the waist. The crack above him drew the attention of all those in the room, and Shinji's eyes shot upward to see his doom approaching. Ritsuko saw a single light fixture descending, falling down to crush the one she hated, and a boy she barely knew. Then her logical mind snapped out 'Those are both our pilots.' and her voice responded to the terror of that thought. "No!" Even as Shinji closed his eyes in the knowledge he would never open them again, inside Unit 01 a Soul and a Beast woke from their slumber. Metal makes a specific sound when it is strained to the breaking point, a tone that differs depending on how it is done, and the Eva's restraints were a number of different alloys. The sounds of the different metals blurred together as they were snapped in an instant. Then before the cacophony could echo in the empty bay, the sound of the fixture striking armor rang out its own note.

"That's impossible!" Ritsuko's mind went down a checklist of just how impossible it was. 'Activation of Evangelion from full shutdown: infinitesimal, Action by Evangelion without power: infinitesimal, Action of Evangelion without pilot: unlikely, Action of Evangelion with Signal Termination Plug inserted: unlikely. Chance of All conditions cleared at once, Code 601:undefinable.' For the others, it was less of a problem.

"Did it act to protect Rei? Or Shinji?" while Misato puzzled over the practical meaning of this, Gendo smiled inwardly at the expression of Ritsuko's face. 'So you still can be that shocked.'

Shinji had no time to react, Rei's whimper of pain pulling his attention to the girl in his arms. Her eyes were wide with suffering, no expression visible on her face, only the eyes themselves struggling to convey whatever feelings were within. Shinji lay her down, eliciting a sharp intake of breath. As he pulled his hand from were it had been wrapped around her waist, his mind picked up where it had left off, turning the sight of the blood staining his hand into a physical assault. {It is your judgment, it is by your hands she will die. It is your hands that will carry the stain.} Cornered into the back of his mind, unable to ignore the truth even now dripping from between his fingers, the terrible scent of the claret fluid filling his mind, Shinji turned up, not even seeing anything other then the impassive face of his father as he spoke.

"I'll do it..."

* * *

Unit 01 is a beast, its mind is simply emotions without any logical thoughts to govern them. It exists in constant pain and terror, restrained by plates of "armor" bolted and sutured into its flesh. More than anything else, it wishes to lash out violently at its tormentors. But within it exists Yui, a single soul that cares for Unit 01, that shared sensations of joy with it, providing it a form of escape. The feeling of clutching a young life to your chest, the simple joy showing on its face as it sleeps. Unit 01 did not have a mind as we understand it, but such little glimpses were its only release from pain. The ones outside itself, they claimed they would give it a chance to work off some of its emotions, but never did. It was impossible by the very nature of their existence for Unit 01 to not feel Yui's emotions at seeing her son again, a montage of all the memories she cherished from her time with him playing to its subdued mind. The Instant Shinji tried to sync with Unit 01, it tried to contact him, to have a chance to experience something other then its own existence again. It could not understand Yui blocking it. Without the logical ability to ask why, it reacted negatively. 'If I can not be with him, neither can you!' that petty childish emotional reaction frustrated Yui. Unit 01 allowed its body to be moved, focusing on trying to get at the pilots mind. Yui could do nothing to help Shinji, being busy keeping the Evangelions mind from tearing into his. So it was alone that Shinji faced Sachiel.

* * *

"Just imagine yourself walking, and the Eva will do it." 'What kind of advice is that? I'm not a robot.' a dark voice giggled in the back of his mind at the thought. 'How could it possibly walk with me just thinking of it?' that same voice rendered its view: {What use has a part for individuality?}

Imagining himself stepping forward, Unit 01 lifted its foot, planting it into the ground, its immense weight not crushing down the specifically designed concrete, but the energy did spread to ripple into a phone booth and rend its glass. As the enthusiastic reactions of the bridge crew came to his ears, and the Eva took another step, his mind wavered. 'I did it?' Without realizing the error, he focused on the idea of walking, not on the act itself. Crashing to the ground, the immense mass of Unit 01 caused no loud noise to his senses. 'What?'

Then the voice of Misato cut through his confusion "Get up Shinji!" reflexively he looked up. Sachiel stood over the Eva, grabbing it by the head and near the wrist on its left arm, it pulled 01 before it. Then its spindly arms bulged obscenely, and Shinji's world went from Terror to Pain. He screamed as he felt a force trying to rend his head and arm. As panicked voices filled his ears from the bridge, he grabbed his left arm with his right reflexively, feeling bulging veins standing out from his flesh. A crack, and the sound of Misato's voice was the only thing to make it through to his mind. Shinji's whimpering sounded through to the bridge.

"Thats not your real arm!" Fortunately for Shinji his gaze was fixed on the horror before him, so he did not see the reality.

Then a light started to brighten in the palm he could both see and feel clamped onto the right side of his skull. A smashing sound came from both outside and inside his skull in sync, as the Angel's lance attempted to bore its way into his eye. The Screams vocalized by the pilot as he clutched futility at the right side of his skull tore at the eardrums of the NERV staff. It finally broke the armor, the immense kinetic energy needed to do so pushing the entire Evangelion backwards into a building, its broken left arm flopping uselessly on a secondary building, while blood sprayed from the mutilated face of Unit 01 with pressure no human body could sustain. The abrupt silencing of the wails of the pilot when the ram had visibly exited the back of the Evangelions skull were replaced with the voices of the technical staff.

"Pilot life sign monitors off line!"

"Critical damage to cranial area."

"Unit 01 unable to maintain activation!"

Among the chaos, only the resigned voice of the operations director spoke clearly. "Eject the plug, call in th-" Misato's orders were cut off mid sentence by the panicked cry of Maya Ibuki.

"Signal Rejected! Nerve connection failure, spreading to all systems!"

Behind them all, Gendo Ikari did something he often admonished as madness. He prayed. 'Yui, don't let him die, don't let this all be for nothing. Please...'

* * *

Inside the decimated Unit 01, Shinji was unable to witness the hideous outcome, his mind at last having shut down. _His_ mind.

Pain it could endure, an end to its existence might even be welcome, but now this enemy threatened its chance to experience more of the sensations it craved like a drug. Worse, it threatened Yui's child, the source of the best "Trip" it had ever experienced. Unit 01 wished to do harm to this enemy, and at that same moment, Yui could think of only one thing. Their thoughts synchronized, and with Shinji knocked out by the pain, his will could not effect the outcome. His fears could not color the emotions. 'KILL' thought the beast, and 'KILL IT' the mother screamed into the aether. Yui dropped all the careful mental battlements that kept the Evangelion in check, that kept Shinji from syncing with Unit 01's own mind. She dropped all rational thought completely. In the mind scape that was the Core of Unit 01, the purple radiance turned crimson, and the Evangelion roared. Its vocal cords had never been used, so it could not say aloud its thought. 'KILL!'

Massacre: the act or instance of killing a number of unresisting or helpless human beings under circumstances of atrocity or cruelty.

* * *

A staccato burst of snapping noises was followed by the repugnant roar of Unit 01, as Alloy cables fit to suspend a bridge were snapped like rubber bands to open its jaws.

"Berserker" Ritsuko breathed over the frantic cries of disbelieving technicians.

"We have won." Gendo sounded as calm as ever. 'Yui, thank you.'

"Yes." But Kozo's mind could not match his words. 'But did we really? As much as we must present a confident front, we can not rely on this.'

* * *

Lurching up from its seated position at the base of the unfortunate building, using its ravaged left arm and the partially crushed building under it for leverage, Unit 01 stood up. Instead of reaching a standing position, it threw its overbalanced weight forward, and tore the pavement of Tokyo 3's streets into chunks as it charged its foe, coming to its full hight as it ran. Red blood from its left wrist drew a zig zag trail behind the weapon. The still raised left arm of Sachiel simply shifted position as it blinked at the purple assailant. Shifting its balance backward, Unit 01 ducked the arm poised to once again seize its face, immense armored boots hurling cars and fragments of concrete as friction halted it, Unit 01s arm reached up, grasping Sachiel's left arm at its elbow. Wrenching on the arm brought the Evangelion's face crashing into Sachiel's. Before the crash could echo from the buildings around the two combatants, the distinctive glow of Sachiel's particle weapon came and went. Partially liquefied armor, fragments of bone, and a cloud of bloody vapor issues forth from Unit 01's head. As the cloud of super heated air left by the blast becomes transparent, The Bridge of NERV experiences a moment of stunned silence as the damage display shows the right side of its head change from the red of damage to black.

The florid left eye does not even flicker. Careening backwards with its hand still locked around Sachiel's left arm, Eva 01 wrenches itself forward, the left shoulder pylon digging into the joint of the arm and torso, pulling the angels arm over its back. The tearing of flesh is overlapped by the cracking of Unit 01's own armor as it strains, and while the pylon fractures, Sachiel's left arm is riven free to the sound of its screeching. Unit 01 and the angel part ways, the sudden release of pressure rolling the Evangelion away from its prey even as Sachiel staggers back a step, bent over backwards at the waist.

Even as its enemy slows its tumble and begins to scramble to its feet, Sachiel rights itself. The umbilical flowing behind it as it springs for the wounded foe, Sachiel's blue blood streaming from its left shoulder, Unit 01 finds its course abruptly halted as it runs horn first into a blockade of orange hexagons. Crashing to the ground a short distance from the sudden obstruction, the beast pauses for an instant. The sound of the snapped horn striking the ground seems to sound the bell for a second round. A fist is hurled into the AT Field with the level of force seen in the demolition of buildings, only to bounce off the roadblock. Taking a step back, Unit 01 unclenched its fist, reaches over to grasp the ragged bleeding mess of its left wrist. A disquietingly human grunt of pain comes from the Eva, as it crushes the splintered bone of its wrist into a semblance of its original shape. The flesh churns for a moment between its fingers.

"Unit 01s wrist just regenerated itself!" Even the cry of this obvious fact by Maya barely registered on those present in the center of NERV.

"Eva's AT Field spread, its neutralizing the phase space!" but even as the words came from Maya's mouth, she witnessed her error.

Stabbing its fingers into the center of Sachiel's barricade, It starts trying to tear open the AT Field. Even as Sachiel's left arm begins to reform, parts of its body flowing to replace the lost segment, its defense starts to split.

"Its not Neutralizing it, its _breaking though!_" Akagi is known for her levelheadedness, none of which is audible at the moment. Pushing the remaining half of its head through the small gap, Crimson light glaring from the half a face it has left, Unit 01 bellows defiance into the gap. Without a sound the AT Field is ripped asunder.

Unable to react swiftly enough, Sachiel finds itself in Unit 01s grasp. Snatching the remaining arm with the hand it had returned, the purple sole of the boot on its right foot comes to rest on Sachiel's core, while its right hand clutches the off center mask of the Angel. Then it flexes its entire body in one shuddering motion. The mask tears free in a spray of azure fluid, simple physics, and not intentional action causes Sachiel to reel back to the left. Before the tension on its right arm can be released, Unit 01s arm wheels around, the mask clutched with fingers protruding from the eye sockets. Pointed beak first, Sachiel's own mask is the instrument which Unit 01 uses to sever Sachiel's only remaining arm. Both off center, Eva 01 rolls back onto all fours while Sachiel struggles to remain on its two remaining limbs. Rushing forward, throwing its mass into the angels center of balance, both are propelled through the building behind Sachiel, and crash into the ground at the base of another high rise, spiderwebs coat the windows alongside the blood. Straddling the angel, Unit 01 rears back to grasp the mask in both hands, driving the point of the mask home into the core of Sachiel. The second impact's ringing note runs into the first, but a third does not follow, as Unit 01 withdraws only the top fragment of the mask, all of it below the eye sockets lodged firmly in the center of the cracks adorning Sachiel's core. Releasing the mask fragment, it brings its hands together and raises them as high as it can. Reacting at last, Sachiel's super sonic screech goes unheard by human ears, as its body turns fluid, transforming into a bluish black globe covering everything from Unit 01's wrists to its waist. The core of the third angel, pressed into the cavity of the Eva's head, Lights brightly enough to become visible through the angels skin. "It's going to self destruct?"

A blinding flash, a cross of purple light taller then Tokyo 3 is wide.

"...Remote monitors offline." Shigeru's voice is too drained to convey anything but the fact.

The form of Unit 01 strode out of the fires of destruction at a deliberate pace. Its armor was blackened by soot and lit from behind in the dull red of cooling metal, its left eye a point of red on the black half mask of its head. Each step jarred off more of the armor, which crumbled into flakes of ash larger then a man. Only the two shoulder pylons remain totally intact, combined with the arms it left hanging limp at its sides, the entire picture drew attention to the missing right half of its head. Spotting the charred flesh poking through the tatters of its armored wrappings provoked comment. "This is..." Misato's voice matches her expression of incomprehension "Eva's true form." Ritsuko finished the thought for her shocked friend, tone unwavering. The Eva stopped its walk, now standing on solid concrete, an undamaged high rise building's windows mirroring it from the beings right.

The Red glow faded to white as it's helmet at last gives way, collapsing onto its left shoulder and breaking in two on its way to the ground. Inside the entry plug, a battered and confused Shinji Ikari wakes.

"What?" He moves to glance about, but turns his head right first, and finds himself unable to look away from the ruin before him. 'Anatomical dummy?' {Live subject.}

The pulverized skull is a jagged edge of white with pink and Grey tissue within. The boy's mind simply locks out the reality for a moment, then he feels an itching sensation. The reflected image of flesh bubbling and expanding to fill the omitted fragment like an obscene time lapse film. Unable to disjoin his gaze from the sight the pilot was given a front row seat. Then the flat dome of pale new flesh split as if cut by a razor, and a single green eye formed. Abruptly finding himself staring into his own eye, he watched as the pupil trembled for a instant, then three small black dots emerged into a triangle formation, the image suddenly becoming infinitely clearer. The clamor of his howling echoed across Tokyo 3 from Unit 01's external speakers.

"He passed out." a tech noted, when the screaming abruptly terminated.

Following the battle, Shinji had been taken to NERV hospital to recover. As his sleeping form reclined in the bed, two of the attendants faced a quandary.

"Shouldn't we take samples from him?" the nurse asked.

"Let the poor kid rest, its not like we cant get them tomorrow" the doctor replies, as he returns to his rounds.

Shinji awoke hours later to the gentle prodding of Misato. The boys first thought was 'another unfamiliar ceiling. I hate unfamiliar ceilings' But as he turned his head from the sterile white to the red on black of Misatos uniform, and realized the joy on her face, his mood evened out. "Hi Misato." The subdued voice, with no trace of anger or resentment quelled the fears that had grown up in Misatos mind. So it was with relief and a simple joy she said. "Welcome back Shinji." For a moment the two just silently stared into each others eyes, the boy drinking in the knowledge that she had cared enough to be there when he awoke, and the woman inhaling the guilt assuaging happiness of the child at her presence. Ending the moment, Misato said. "Lets get you out of here." Then a thought struck her mind, and she added. "And get you some clothes." while she turned to get the nurses, Shinji panicked at the realization he was only wearing a hospital gown, and his face took the chance to add some rouge to the room's décor. But as Misato reaches the door, Shinji abruptly arrests her movement with a question. "What..." Pausing in the doorway, the captain turns around and waits for him to finish his question. "What happened to Rei?" Misatos face shifted from concern to a pleased half smile. "She will recover, now I better leave you alone for a while." Winking and breaking into a mischievous smile, she ducked out of the room and let the door shut.

* * *

The walk through NERV HQ's corridors was uneventful, but upon finding out that Shinji was to live alone, Misato refused. Despite Shinji's downcast utterance of "It's alright, I'm used to being alone." {You have always been alone.} echoing though his mind even as the words failed to echo in the room. The words of the young man laid Misatos course in stone. So with 'No one should be alone like that.' ringing in her mind, Misato broke down the poor quarters assignment managers will. Shinji could only stare on in awe and confusion as a woman he did not know, but now dearly wished too, fought for his future. "Alright Shinji, just one more thing before we leave." Misato cheered to him before going to the phone and calling up Ritsuko. Shinji could only here Misato's half of the conversation, so he was left rather confused.

"Like I said, I'll take care of Shinji. I've already got permission from the brass." Misato's serious tone vanished, and it was with amused sarcasm that she completed the sentence with "...and don't worry, It's not like I'm going to 'put the moves' on a kid." Before the addled mind of the boy could start running down what in that sentence was wrong, Misato abruptly whipped the phone as far away from her ear as she could. Shinji could not make out what Ritsuko had said, but considering he heard anything at all from his position down the hall she must have been shouting it. Hanging up the phone with a frustrated look on her face, Misato turned to Shinji. "She could never take a joke." Her smile at the familiar quirk placed Shinjis mind back at ease. Other then the singularly frightening moment of running into his father in the elevator car, leaving NERV was probably the most pedestrian part of either of their days.

* * *

To say that Misato's apartment was a mess would be like saying that the Chernobyl was just an inconvenience. Shinji simply could not take the time to sleep and wash up until the place was at least not a toxic waste dump. The lesson that Misato could not be trusted to cook was learned as much by classical conditioning as by any other method. Pen Pen managed to cause him to embarrass himself enough for several lifetimes. Turning to the sink to wash his burning face, he soaked the washcloth, wiped his face and looked into the mirror. 'Something's off.' Confused, he looked over his face. 'nothing on my chin, no bits of food, my teeth look fine.' puzzled at why he could not find the source of his confusion, he decided to try listing things, figuring something was bound to pop out. 'My hair is the same old brown, not even stained from that horrible orange stuff, no bruises around my eye, which is a little odd considering, but they kept telling me it was not me getting hit. Same greenish brown ey-...' Suddenly he focused in on his eyes, a level of clarity in his sight he had never had outside of nightmares giving him a clear view of himself. The screaming brought in Section 2 before Misato could even make it from her bedroom to the bathroom.

* * *

Episode teaser:

What is the meaning of this? Just what is NERV's reaction going to be? Did the upper level staff know this would happen? What exactly is going on here? How is this even possible? And just as important, will there ever be any fan service? Next on Blood of Blue, Episode 02: Angel Eyes

Author Notes:

My thanks to Scruffy, kennethB, and Squire, all the Prereaders really!

oh my lord, writing combat is hard. Outlining it is easy, writing it... not so much. But it is so much fun!

The {Truth} is essentially the child Shinji from the "Train car hell" of Cannon, given the chance to voice things in response here.

Misato ought to be a fairly good driver, and I took Justan's suggestion on this. When not distracted or in danger, she drives like a professional, but with an enthusiastic confidence in her skill.

For those wondering, Unit 01 was deployed off screen with Rei piloting in an attempt to stop Sachiel. Given her injuries from the disaster with Unit 00, she could not stop it. Unit 01 was never seen deployed by Shinji and Misato because the commander held it back as long as possible, hoping to avoid sending a pilot with little chance of victory out in his only operational Unit. This is essentially consistent with the Manga, and I am happy to shamelessly steal the idea.


	5. Episode 02:Angel Eyes

Foreword: Much to many peoples surprise (I imagine) this is not a dead fic. I am aware of how long this was in production, and the simple facts make no difference to you the readers, so I won't bother listing the reasons for it. The only one that matters is quality. I will also add that pre-readers are needed desperately to increase the speed of production. Writing is easy, writing -well- is hard.

Because of the importance of some events which did not appear in Episode 01, they appear here. This also means that some of the events here occur before Episode 01's last scene. There is a clearly marked demarcation line as to when you reach beyond the last scene from Episode 01. (it is pretty clear I believe) For additional information, see the after word.

Formatting information:

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

{Truth} (See the Author Notes on Episode 01 if this confuses you.)

**** = Scene change

********************************************************************************  
Episode 02: Angel Eyes

* * *

"We just got Pilot Ikari out of the entry plug, the LCL was contaminated."  
"By what?" 'poor kid, doesn't deserve to get a rep for pissing his pants.'  
"According to analysis, human brain matter, blood and bone fragments, cartilage and muscle, also cerebral fluid."  
"What?"  
"We analyzed the plug's secondary pilot condition monitors, at first it was believed they were in error, but now..."  
"What did they show?"  
"The pilot... sustained damage comparable with the Evangelions own damages."

"That should be impossible!" 'at this sync ratio anyhow...'

* * *

In future times, Ritsuko would forever be kicking herself for not pulling in the pilot immediately. To be able to see the DNA rewrite in as close to real time as possible would have yielded a wealth of information. In her darker moments, it would come to mind that had she acted then, she could have had Shinji all but dissected before anyone could interfere. Blissfully ignorant of what was going on, only the most basic examination was done, and not by herself. Having just ended a conversation with Misato after she made an idiotic crack, a return to normal work would have been nice. The head of the scientific branch was too busy with the minutiae of essentially replacing the head of Evangelion maintenance and repair, the single most pedestrian position with clearance only a little below her own. All this had lead her here, to her own overused office, a place of a thousand staring cats eyes. 'And all of them predators if his body language is any indication.'

"I called you here to dispense with unpleasant work."

Jiro Horaki was a simple man, he did a job, he cared for his daughters, and when the occasion called to him, he mourned for his wife; always silently, in the dark, where no one else could see, least of all his daughters. Working at NERV required moving to Tokyo-3, so it had been done. Working at NERV required the ability to not question things that made little sense, and to never speak of that work outside of the office. You never mentioned coming back to find the "machine" you had worked on had shifted while you were gone. You did not question the actions or cryptic advise of the young ghost who came each day to the holding bays to talk to them. No matter how insane her one sided conversations with the giants were, no matter if you had to wait a day to replace some "armor" because she had been siting on it the entire work day. You did not mention the nightmares, or why your clothes needed to be incinerated because it had blood on it. Jiro had resented it, during that first year here, not being able to fill the family tradition of a meal flavored with the events of each of their days. Since she had been called beyond the vail, those days had gone with her. But the events leading to being called into the Scientific Branch's office by name could not have been avoided. He rationalized that he had nothing to fear, he had not spoken about seeing the injured girl lead to the entry plug by the hand. He had not spoken a word of her being pulled from the purple terror and removed on a stretcher, so badly torn up one of the new members had lost his lunch. He did not balk at cleaning the bloodstains from the armor and gantry. So he had nothing to fear, right?

"Mr. Horaki." She pulled the man out of his thoughts and to attention. "The head of your division, who was supposed to arrive today, was killed during the deployment of an N2 mine." The look of shock on his face did not surprise her, years of lies had inured her. 'After all, 'there were no fatalities' right?' "As such you inherit his position, the paperwork for the change in pay grade and benefits can be filed later. For now, you have the task of repairing Unit 01 as quickly as possible."

"Understood." A level tone of voice, while his mind made the concession that, like so many things, it was out of his hands.

"Along with the basic changes, you are now considered Class 3 personnel, as such a security detail is being assigned to your residence, along with any and all dependents you might have." The look of confusion on his face showed just how unqualified he was for the realities of NERV's higher ranks. "We can not afford to have someone in such an important position blackmailed." 'Unless we are the ones doing it, naturally.' The truth of the policy was sour in her mouth, but one can become used to sour.

"I will get to work then." Jiro had no intention of dwelling on the line of thinking guards on his family lead down.

"The commander plans to personally inspect Unit 01 tomorrow at 08:00. Of course, I never told you that."Realizing just how much work and overtime would be needed to get the ravaged Unit ready for an inspection in that time frame, Jiro replyed with genuine emotion.

"Thank you."

As the new head of Evangelion maintenance and Repair left the room to her keeping, Ritsuko drew breath to sigh in exasperation. 'What is Gendo's aura starting to rub off on me?' before she could let out the sigh, Maya darted into her office through the door. "I have something you're going to want to see." 'Smile, half cheerful, half frightened tone, and I want to see it? What happened to the Evangelions this time?' If anything had rubbed off on her, it was Gendo's ability to hide frustration.

"Hmm?"

"We were going over the regenerated areas of the head, and Mr. Horaki noticed something was off about the eye. So I pulled out the record photos."  
Before her were two pictures, seemingly identical.

"Three Pupils?"

Absolutely beaming, managing to look more like a puppy then before, Maya nodded.  
"Exactly, even with just a basic visual examination, it appears that Unit 01 now has three miniature pupils evenly spaced around the normal human one!" The irony of how literal that statement could be was singularly lost on her.

"That should be impossible... oh hell, not another cancerous growth!" 'Make them regenerate faster, sounds easy when you just say it, but once you start dividing cells it can go wrong so fast...'

"Thats the best part, its in both eyes, we just need to run genetic tests to confirm my theory!"

"Wait, what theory?" 'Typical Maya, leaping to conclusions, bit like myself back then.' Though memories of running her wild ideas by her own mother grasped her with cold claws, the burning question made for an effective torch in her hands.

"Well when we saw this and got the basic data, I went over the construction notes, and one of your theory papers on Evangelion behavior talked about self evolution." The pause in her bubbling stream of thoughts was momentary, but brought Ritsukos attention to the next words. "The referenced paper you used, I could not find it and without the authors name I just had to move on." 'There is only one name that does not appear in the Magi outside of personnel files, _her_.' "Even if the theory source is a little shaky, I think this might be an example of this self evolution in action."

"The Angel itself showed the ability to 'upgrade its operational parameters' as the commander put it, so I don't see any reason to rule it out yet." Now at last her tone reached that maniac's glee Maya had brought. "Lets go check!" While two scientists, one young and the other feeling younger then she had in years, rushed off to their work, A unique manifestation was occurring on the grounds of the German branch of NERV.

* * *

Before the Pilot of Unit 02, the worlds first Evangelion built for actual use, the apparition blinked into existence. Reflexes honed to a fine edge, and the mental equivalent of twitch muscle reactions went into play for the few seconds it was visible.

Standing in the Corridor, A boy dressed as a student, with green eyes. A girl dressed in a school uniform, pale as the moonlight, with azure hair and red eyes. A girl her age dressed in a yellow dress, with red clips in- 'Mirror of me' her mind labeled. But what confirmed the illusionary nature of the vision was the last two figures, a boy dressed the same as the first, skin and hair as pale as bleached silk, his crimson eyes mirrored by what could only be a pair of red butterfly wing shapes behind him as if attached to his back. Flanking him to complete the unreal scene stood another of the Blue haired girl, but with Glowing Blue wing shapes poised as if sprouting from her back. The five seemed to be looking at her in curiosity, but when she blinked, the now empty Corridor mocked her, daring her to question reality.

At the same time, in a corridor of the SEELE facility where he had 'lived' Karou found himself experiencing that same phenomenon again, he was here, and he was also standing in a corridor of a NERV base with German writing, staring a face he had not seen. A face he knew well would respond to the name Auska, if only with disdain for his presumption. But this time a faint sound reached him. As the moment of unreality ended, he reeled against a wall. 'What did I hear?'

The sound of four instruments, a chello, two violins, and a viola, preforming a classical piece. That was what he had heard. 'This base must have a library.' and so the angel of free will exercised that privilege.

* * *

In the Evangelion cages Ritsuko is pouring over the data on her laptop, with Maya and her own laptop by her side. The frustrated but unwilling to interrupt Jiro, can only watch in mounting frustration as the two prevent the replacement of a key restraint/armor segment on the left shoulder.

"This is going to take a while, so much new data." The excitement in Maya's voice is matched by the exhausted enthusiasm of Ritsuko.

"Its enough to have the Magi running for at least several days."  
"Do you think it might have an effect on the pilot?"

As if on que, an announcement that Dr. Akagi is required to contact Major Katsuragi immediately echoes from the speakers. Snapping her laptop shut in frustration, Ritsuko heads out with a last wave to her enthralled compatriot. The senior researchers presence gone, Jiro at last works up the courage to ask.  
"Excuse me, but..."  
Looking up from her work inquisitively, Maya replies

"Yes?"  
"If you could move please," Jiro's tone belies the frustration he has built up while waiting on the sudden intruders in his work. "we really need to replace that armor segment your sitting on." Realizing that she has been here for at least an hour, Maya quickly gets up.  
"Sorry. If you need any help with the technicals, or you find anything else off, please contact me directly." handing Jiro the spare copy of her ID information she had started keeping in her pocket after the first couple of days, she heads out, laptop in hand. Looking at her go, Jiro can't help but feel amused, wondering how such a... secretarial person landed a job in NERV HQ. Then he reads her card and abruptly panics as he notices the 4 degrees that Dr. Maya Ibuki holds, and the fact she is effectively the second in command of the scientific branch.

* * *

The call was not what she expected, it was infinitely worse. Shinji had collapsed at the apartment and been rushed unconscious to the civilian hospital of Tokyo-3. This meant that humanity was naked before a possible angel attack. Immediately dropping her priorities and grabbing what would be her third caffeine patch, (pills took to long) she pulled rank on a section 2 vehicle and made best time to the hospital.

Entering the hospital and meeting the current senior proved easier then getting the Major's report, as she refused to leave Shinji's side.

"Acute Stress Reaction resulting in stupor." the most senior of the remaining staff reported.

"Pain response?" while her voice was calm, the mind of Dr. Akagi was in a state of panic. 'Our only pilot is now essentially in a coma. We, or at least I, am several steps off a sky bridge.'

"Limited, but its there." with an inner sigh of relief, she crossed most of her worst fears off the list. 'Ok, so he can recover, its not neurological damage, or at least not enough to prevent recovery.'

"Alright then, until I have a better read on the pilots condition," The statement of employment at NERV was not missed by the doctor if the shock was any indication "moving him is out of the question. I need the following, and complete discretion"

With a long list and stern orders that this held higher priority then every other patient in his care put together, Ritsuko sent the frightened man away and prepared to begin what promised to be a long night.

Stepping into the room, she found the pilot propped up on the bed with his eyes closed, Misato staring at him from the single chair in the room. Even her entrance did not conjure a twitch in the purple hair.

"What happened?" 'Shes going to blame herself, even if its something the Magi could not have predicted.' Without turning her head, Misato's voice came, quiet as the wind off a grave.  
"He went to wash up, Pen Pen surprised him, and then he went back into the bathroom. Then he screamed. I was in my bedroom, so the Section 2 got to him first." As Misato's voice went about the small room, Ritsuko checked the chart at the foot of the bed. 'No physical trauma, blood chemical levels are normal, for the stress he had anyhow.'  
"What was he doing when they found him?" The question at last provoked Misato to turn around. Ritsuko had seen Misato at some of her worst, sick from drinking, sick from an actual illness, even borderline depressed. All her mind could say to the look on her face was 'Broken'

"He was staring at the mirror, locked onto something in it, unable to stop looking." Misato had seen that before, people enthralled by a sight so terrible they could not stop trying to make sense of it. "He just kept screaming until he ran out of air, even as I got there, with the Section 2 agents looking at the mirror and behind him."  
"Then what?" Ritsuko was using tools she had not actually used in years, had the situation not been so grim, she might have smiled at knowing she could still do things the old fashioned way. As Misato resumed, she got out a light and magnification tool to look into his eyes for pupil dilation.

"Then he just... Dropped, like someone head shot." While Misato shuddered at the terrible memory, the gruesome comparison went by Ritsuko without being heard.

She had just turned the light tool off when the light had shined back out of his eye and nearly left a spot on her vision. 'now why would the pupils be arranged that way-' her mind had been so rushed and overdrawn that it had not switched gears from thoughts on the Evangelion to its pilot. 'Green, three secondary pupils, light reflective back coating.' as she moved to the other eye to confirm that she had not overdosed on Caffeine, she asked.  
"Misato, what was he staring at in the mirror?" the question prompted Misato's mind to draw line of sight comparisons as if Shinji had been shooting a pistol.  
"His eyes..." confusion gave way to attention as Ritsuko turned.  
"Then I have a theory" 'Oh boy, this is going to screw Maya out of so much sleep.' with a moments thought she inwardly smiled when she realized 'This is going to screw The Commander out of sleep.' Misatos instant revival seemed to take decades off her age as she gushed the question.  
"Then Shinji is going to be all right?"  
"Lets get him to the medical ward at NERV HQ to confirm, but for now yes."  
Blasting out of the room with energy Ritsuko could scarcely believe she possessed, Misato prepared the arrangements.

* * *

Hours of work with NERV HQ's advanced medical equipment with its data fed through the magi later, the last test results would soon be in. Exhausted despite another caffeine patch, 'I am now over the recommended dose limit by two' her mind idly noted, The head of the scientific branch of NERV was reclining in her chair. Before her was the fruits of her labors, highlighted in the flickering red and green lights of Magi deliberations. Cell age indicators that showed part of his head, and part of his left wrist, were cells divided yesterday, even the bones. Detailed visual analysis of both his eyes and a series of schematics of their design and function, the new neural clusters highlighted in a separate sheet, theroys about what they did hand scrawled in her own penmanship. Maya's results on Unit 01's eyes in printout, along with a Magi point by point comparison of the two. All that was left was the DNA and blood cell tests, of which one was unique, and likely sucking up all that Magi time and processing power. Reaching idly to her exhausted stash of coffin nails yet again, Ritsukos face flashed with annoyance just as the Magi report flashed onto her screen. "Now I win my little bet!" she thought aloud at Maya's theory while taking in the results.  
Her expression turned to anger as Maya's prediction was proven correct. Losing the bet was nothing compared to the fact that this would require a full and direct personal report to Ikari.

* * *

In the hospital at NERV HQ, in one of the interchangeably identical medical rooms, Rei was acting on her own initiative, or as close to such as she had.'order to return to duty as soon as possible. The medical staff's order 'complete bed rest' holds lower priority.'

The line of reasoning was sound, but not the only thing in her mind. 'I dislike this room.' Even for someone whose life is not their own, the basic form of learning by association applies. Waking in a room like that one always lead to, or from, physical pain. The sight of Rei, bandaged, but standing in the corridor considering the geo-front with her one crimson orb held enough of an otherworldly quality that the staff did not interrupt her.

What did was the sight of an unconscious Shinji being wheeled into the room in which she was assigned to recuperate. The memory, etched into her mind with pain, of his face filled with emotions. Emotions she could name, fear, anger, shock... but whose meanings somehow always escaped her understanding, as a word hovers just off the tip of a tongue. She did not see any damage, and this prompted her curiosity to lead her by the hand into the room she disliked once again. Reading the medical chart provided only that this was Shinji Ikari, Third Child, submitted for hysterical reaction leading to loss of consciousness via oxygen deprivation. For some reason she could not understand, watching this boy sleep seemed...correct.

So it was that hours later, Shinji Ikari woke to the impassive face of Rei. Silence reigned for a time in the room as parallel thoughts ran through the heads of the two. 'Her eyes are... red?' it was natural for Shinjis mind to latch on to anything to avoid the reason he was here. 'His eyes...' the memory played out again before her bandage covered eye. The call by the commander that the spare was unusable, her knowledge that she would fail again did not impede her assent. Though the pain haze, the sight of the spare. The moment of instability, and the knowledge that she would not even have the chance to attempt her orders. Then the face of the third, of Shinji as he held her. The images overlaid before her made it clear what had changed. 'are now green...' the kingdom of silence was brought low by the voice of Shinji then.

"Are you alright?" a meaningless question to Rei.

"Your eyes?"

"I..." since entering the city, Shinji had not been given a chance to speak the torrent of thoughts running in his head. His cup runnith over, and so he spilled it, all of it. The letter, the madness of Eva, the face of terror, and the terror that was his own face."... Now I don't even know who I am."

Rei had listened to the entirety of the story, unspeaking and unreadable. Trying to understand how her question called for this much of an explanation. But as the last words reached her ears, the iron resolve came to speak.  
"You are you." Credit where it is due, Shinji actually understood what she meant, though he could not yet know the weight behind the words she spoke in that simple whisper.

* * *

"The presence of active Blue Cells in the pilot is confirmed." The head of the Scientific branch addressed the commander clinically.

"Then you will suppress them, the same as with the first." 'This will skew the scenario.'

Thinking of the "medication" that Rei had taken all her existence; which only filled three roles, Blue Cell containment, Suppression of the Reproductive systems, and Emotional dampening. Ritsuko considered lieing, saying that it was possible, just as a way of being able to feed whatever she wanted to the pilot for testing... 'I feel sick.'

"Impossible in this case, Unlike Rei, where the Blue Cells and Red Cells carry distinct genetic markers, and act like a not entirely compatible organ transplant, Pilot Ikari's cells carry the same base genetics." the reply she had prepared to the inevitable question garnered a response no different then if she had announced a coin had fallen tails from the commander.

"I fail to see the problem." 'Why does she never speak in plain language when defending herself?' Ikari was in no mood for her linguistic gymnastics this early in the morning.

"If we apply the same kind of suppression, or in fact any kind of suppression, it would at the least depress the pilots immune system as well, and possibly suppress any number of bodily functions vital to piloting, much less survival."

"Then develop a new treatment series." even as the words left his mouth, his thoughts turned. 'No, its never that simple is it?'

"Sir, that will take time, months of time without full time Magi support, if it is even possible. And your unwillingness to use other facilities Magi, with the additional time pulled for study of Evolution Under Duress" the unfamilar term used by Maya to discribe Unit 01's little upgrades was a direct reminder that Maya would be assigned to head research into it, rather then herself. "itself, makes it essentially impossible."

"What are the probable effects?" Kozo finally spoke up, having stood silent this entire time. 'I don't dare ask 'What did we do to an innocent person this time?' now do I?'

"As the Blue Cells propagate, they appear to be taking over the roles of several cell types via hybridizing with them, given enough time they may well replace all blood cells entirely, with each able to fill any role needed at a given time, the outlook for pilot health is quite positive." 'Aside from turning him into the enemy, or at least another like that _doll_.'

"And the downside?" Again Ikari's mind went over her patterns of speaking 'These things always have one, and you always list the upsides first.'

"Well beyond the simple issues of needing to set the Magi to disregard AT Field readings from the pilot?" The commander nodded for her to continue. "I hope you did not plan on any normal grand children, because the changes to the genetics are in the maternal DNA, and will likely propagate for several dozen generations before fading. The mechanics are in the report, but surely you did not call me here to repeat this aloud?"

"Correct. The Committee demands to know the cause, and the probability that it will occur with the other Evangelions, as well as the chance this has anything to do with the seventeenth's nature."

"What? When did they-"

"I will be speaking with them in an hour, directly." 'Explaining this kind of thing is not my job, but your not cleared for it of course.'

"I... as best we can tell its caused by a combination of the Evangelions genetic instability, their being derived from the angels, and is a reaction to extreme stress. Beyond that I run out of speculation, and I want to remind you that this is purely hypothetical at the moment. If that theory is basically correct, then the prototype is likely to react as well, possibly even more drastically, and I can not say with certainty that a production model like Unit 02 wont exhibit the behavior as well, there are to many unknowns. In all frankness, we should have expected odd behavior, the Evangelions are based on too many Black Boxes to not have this kind of problem."

"Good, that I can present to the committee. You are dismissed." once the head of the science division left the room, Kozo spoke.

"You really think the committee will stay silent for this?"

"Sensei, this is not the worst that we warned them could happen. It was unexpected, but this is not Unit 01 becoming aware and going beyond our ability to control. In the end, they want the goal to badly to derail things over something this trivial." nodding as if to reassure himself he concluded. "This may even work in our favor, dividing the committee as to weather this breaks homeostasis, prompting them to try and get their little spy to us sooner, which would require shipping Unit 02 and the Second Child as well, it might even grant us some additional budget to study this phenomenon."

* * *

In the cold of the medical wing Ritsuko found herself trying to explain to a frightened young boy why his eyes had changed color, along with the less evident but far more important aspects. Shinji was taking cold comfort from the chill of the room, glad to be in his clothes and not another hospital gown.

"The Angels have the ability to improve themselves, like evolution without the thousands of years of waiting. The Evangelions have the same ability, but before yesterday we could not be sure of that."

But in the young mans mind ran the point Ritsuko had so delicately danced around. 'But only living things evolve.' {And you know all about it.} Before he could release the thought buzzing around his head out his mouth, Ritsuko continued.

"I told you about how the Evangelion synchronizes with the pilot, acting as you will it to. It appears that this synchronization runs both ways stronger then we had believed. We knew from experience that you would feel the pain of damage-" 'Not the time to mention that he actually took damage in that engagement...' "-to the Evangelion but now we know that when Unit 01 did this forced evolution, it triggered your own body to do so as well."

The buzzing thought promptly died, eaten by the greater fear {And who is to say where it ends?} The image of a monster with his eyes flashed across his mind, driving him to seek solace in the difficult to understand explanation Ritsuko had launched into.

"So, with the new arrangement and a little experience you ought to be able to see with impressive detail, and resolve images at range with greater clarity." The slight frown that entered her face at Shinji's confused look prompted Misato to chime in.

"Hay, looks like you wont need glasses to read the fine print now!" The absurd statement lightened the mood like a match lit in a cavern.

"True" The head of the Scientific Branch could not help but remark to herself. 'if pedestrian' "and since the walls of your eye reflect light now, you can see in near darkness." Naturally this went over his head. "You know how a cats eyes shine at night?" This of course, Shinji could nod affirmative to. "Well its because of that they see so well at night, and now your eyes will shine too." Misato stuck in her own little comment.

"The moment I saw you I noticed your Bright Eyes, now everyone gets to see them!" Even Ritsuko had to admit Shinji perked up at the little comment, no matter how much she wanted to smack Misato for bringing up that little nickname and the history it held.

"Of course, there is the little side effect that if we took a paternity test now, your father would show up negative, but you cant win everything." 'He never was your son before, it makes no difference now does it?' Upon consideration, at least the kid had a nice smile on the rare occasions he used it.

None of them noticed the presence of Rei as she listened from behind the curtain separating her bed from Shinji's.

* * *

Inside the office of the Commander of NERV, two old men were facing an event that was totally outside their vast collective experience.

"We always knew that the Dead-sea Scrolls were more of an outline or summery then a map." The words of a concerned man, hoping to avert a outburst of temper. The commander of NERV had a reputation for not losing his temper, only because he was so frightening all of the time.

"Yes, but..." Even with his face hidden in the shadows of his stance of control, Fuyutski could sense by his tone the strain. 'Bad enough he was forced to pull in his son, then driven to release his most prized possession to battle. Now fate punishes him for doing what he was forced to do?'

"One does not need to control the outcome of every roll of the dice to win." At his friends comment, Fuyutski blinked, before Gendo continued. "We need only to take this outcome and use it as a springboard. In the objective analysis, this only increases our advantage, by removing one of both of our enemies." 'Oh yes, I "lose" a son I never really had, and gain equal footing with the angels adaptation ability in return. Any fool could see that is a swindle.' The thoughts brought little comfort even as Gendo struggled to focus on them. But of the two people that could ever see through his lies, one was in attendance.

"You really intend to tell the committee the truth about this?"

"Why not? We can not conceal our new wild card forever, and if we can not save it for use at the right time, then we may as well use it to bluff with." The reminder of Gendo's second income source from so long ago flickered images through his mind for a moment, but it was his thinking mind which noted. 'Playing poker with humanity at stake, surely that is some kind of record for least valuable pot.' Their musings on the important matters completed, the minute of running NERV climbed onto their backs again.  
"So I assume the budget allocation changes can wait until after their decision?" The tone of absolute boredom from Kozo brought Gendo back to the world.  
"Naturally, when the old men part with more of their hard stolen funds over this potential wealth of knowledge a whole new budget will be forthcoming." Both men frowned, even among the most powerful men in the world, the paperwork to get things done consumed their lives with the abandon of a starving man.

"God I hate this." 'And only you would say you could force the committee to act on anything.'  
"Don't blame god, only man can be so cruel." Gendo's ironic smirk was felt rather then seen, even as he waved his once teacher out of the room.

With the office closed, He retired to the room that did not exist. 'A few hours of sleep, then I will deal with those sniveling idiots at SEELE.'

* * *

"Ritsuko, I want the reality. We both know you sugar coated that." Misato's patentable commanding tone rang in the now less crowded medical room.

With a sigh, Ritsuko took off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose as she replied "More like I drowned it in syrup. Frankly, he barely qualifies as human now from a legal perspective."

Naturally the look on her friends face brought her to quantify that. "What I mean is, the laws on what qualifies as human were set immensely strict following 2ed Impact, the panic over mutation lead to politicians cashing in on their idiocy. Under those same rules your own contamination places you on the borderline, so really its a farce."

"Thanks for not telling him, especially about not matching his mother either."

"Even I am not that cold." Miffed, Ritsuko turned back to her work before adding. "If you can, find something positive for him out of all this."

For the second time in that same day, neither of them noticed the presence of Rei as she listened in the background.

* * *

As Misato drove up the winding road to the overlook of Tokyo-3, her passenger just stared out the window with his now emerald eyes. Thoughts raced through her head 'Something symbolic like this, sure Ritsuko might think its sappy, but the poor kid needs it. Besides, the odds that the commander even looks at the schedule change paperwork are next to nothing.' Pulling to the last switchback, she checked her watch. 'alright, just enough time before the restoration.'

Pulling into place and stepping outside to the railing while Shinji merely exited the car to stand beside it, she turned around precisely on time. Setting sun behind her, and the whole city laid out for his view, she began.

"Shinji, I know you pay a price for using Eva, and I won't tell you I understand it. But I brought you here because I think you need to know everything to make an informed decision." At Shinji's inactive response she continued with a gesture to the city itself behind her. "I told you yesterday that this city was a fortress for all mankind. But it is still a city, full of people who have nothing to do with NERV itself. It is your city too now, the city you saved." Precisely on time, the flattened plain of Tokyo-3 sprung to life, buildings rising in unison even as the sun fell to meet them. Even as lost in his own troubles as he was, Shinji's eyes lit up with joy at the marvel.

"The city! It's _growing_!" came the exclamation. He could see the buildings as if they were only a sports field away, while in reality miles separated them. The waning sunlight filtering through the offices of a building as it rose into place, as if the sun was winking above the cubicles. Birds floating on the thermals stopping to rest on the roosts brought to them. The warning signs at the base of the buildings swapping their text to "Warning: Building in Motion."

Misato's thoughts matched her smile. 'Sometimes it just takes a simple thing to restore your faith.'

* * *

Staring at the papers in the ride over to the school he would now attend, Shinji Ikari remained divided. The voices speaking about his future, deciding it all for him as if he was not there, echoed in his mind. "NERV can not supervise a child on site." That voice of his fathers, ever the same no matter the subject.

"And NERV would not wish to leave our pilots pigeonholed if and when the need for the Evangelions ends." That man, the one who was his fathers shadow. 'No, not a shadow, more like a Mirror.' the reflection of contrast was undeniable, and with the distance of space and time it was clear. {But is it the truth?}  
"To that end, I believe it would be in his best interests to attend classes, excepting duties at NERV of course." This the solid voice of his new guardian, the Misato he had seen a glimpse of last evening undetectable. {Like an Ice bridge, seemingly sturdy, but melting in the light of day.} 'Or the warmth of another's embrace.' the thought echoed in the silence of his mind as he looked over at the smiling Misato, to focused on the road to see him.

* * *

After word: Writing the next episode is now underway (I know how that sounds) but the more interest I know there is in it the more guilt it places on me to hurry up. Lovely irony there don't you think? That an author wants attention, and yet fears that it will hurt them? Insert hedgehogs dilemma joke here.

To those who read before, my thanks.  
To those who spoke to me of how to change this for the better, my thanks.  
To those who just found this story today and read through what little is here, left wanting more... Speak with your keyboards.

To any who would willingly help me on this... Please?

Tune in eventually for Episode 03: New world, New tests


	6. Episode 03: New world, New tests

Episode 03: New world, New tests.

Formatting information:

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

{Truth} (See the Author Notes from episode 01 if this confuses you.)

**** = Scene change

* * *

As the Blue Alpine Ranult flew down the streets of Tokyo-3, its driver was busy elsewhere, well her mind was. 'Its only been three days and the damage is gone. Well the damage to the city.' The memories of the work after the battle was over, not just the paperwork but the cleanup and the totaling of the dead and injured flit through Misato's mind. Inwardly Misato knew that the only reason she could lose so much of her focus from driving was because of the mass exodus from Tokyo-3. In a single day it had gone from being a new Rome to the front line of a war, the details of which no one could be told. Naturally the people had run, taking their families with them. Those who could not run had sent their family as far away as possible. Weaving around a supply truck, Misato turned her thoughts to the task ahead of her.

A glance at the contemplative slight frown on Shinji's face as he peered into the depths of the papers for the school brought the concerns she was trying to find a solution to back into focus. "Shinji."  
A mumbled "yes?" filtered back.  
"A new place is a fresh start, don't worry about it, I'm sure you'll make a strong first impression."  
"True." Shinji was fully on automatic 'let them talk' mode, busy trying to deal with the reality that he now worked part time fighting some kind of horrific monster, while going to school.  
"I'll make sure to make a memorable entrance!" The grin on her face would probably have panicked Shinji had he actually looked up to see it.

* * *

Class 2-A, the only occupied classroom remaining at the school, had the enviable position of having a window along one wall open to the outside. What few knew, certainly only two of the students, was that said window was made of a ballistic plastic that looked like glass, and could stand off anything short of a Sabot round. The entire building was like that, an above ground bunker to protect something worth more then all the platinum on earth, all hidden in plain sight. Setting up his laptop on his desk at the front of the room while less then a third of the class milled about in the room in front of him, the last remaining 'Teacher' gave a mental snort at how deep the rabbit hole went.

At no other place on earth would a officially retired commando be hired on by Section-2 to fill the role of 'Teacher' to a bunch of high-school kids. 'Ok, high-school kids that are the key part in the 'Ultimate Decisive Battle Weapon' but still it sounds insane.' If his buddy from the camps in China had told Mike 'The Kildar' Jenkins that at 49 he would be teaching every subject on the menu to high-school kids for a secret organization run by the UN's conspirator backers, he would probably have told him to write a novel about it, clearly that only happened in fiction.

As he keyed in today's password for administrative control of the wireless network for the school, putting into place the monitoring on every students laptop with power, (alright, all but one students laptop) he noted who was and was not in yet. Hitting the macro, the students who were not in's position was reported by their Section-2 agents in order of priority. The first name to pop up surprised him. 'Well, I don't often see Hikari less than a hour early. At least the agents assigned to her are on the ball.' It was at that point the sound of an approaching car drifting around a corner caught his ear. Immediately snapping into tactical thinking, the right actions for stopping a suicide run came to mind. 'Secure the windows, allow poor idiot to detonate themselves on the tungsten carbide reinforced E grade concrete of the walls, inform command.' Nothing packable into the size of the blue car Mike spotted racing up the street could match the force of a Eva's foot at a walk.  
Also watching the approach were two sets of eyes and a single camera, belonging to Toji and Kensuke. 'Now that's a nice ride.' was the thought in Toji's mind, having found something to take his mind off what had been eating at him since three days ago. A momentary distraction from his nightmares of Mari begging him to help even as the massive flake of ash larger then the approaching car- Kensuke's accidentally bumping Toji in the head with his elbow as he angled for a better view when the car prepared to turn into the parking lot dislodged the line of thinking.  
"No way!" Kensuke's excited voice was typically reserved for one of three things, hobbies, babes, and the indignant rants he would occasionally go on about how NERV was bullshitting everyone about what was going on.  
"What?" Toji refused to take his eyes off the car as it executed a perilous drift into a parking spot next to a van, actually going up on two wheels before crashing into place. The awesome sight was slightly dampened by the taped front end falling off. Before Kensuke could answer, Misato stepped out of her car and dramatically took off her driving glasses while throwing her hair over her shoulder. It garnered exactly the reaction she had planned from the students.

Even as the hoots and shouts of encouragement from the men of class 2-A showered down on Misato, who flashed a Victory sign; a rattled Shinji stepped out of the car and collected himself. Looking up at the now open window to the students gathered at it, Shinji saw two of them leaning out, one with a camera that did not even look over at him. {You _are_ nothing special.}  
For an instant as what Kensuke and Toji both thought was perhaps the most lucky person on earth looked up; it seemed like his eyes flashed green in the viewfinder of Kensukes camera. Not caring about some odd flare when this much babe was on display, he tracked her entrance.  
"Please, please, please, tell me that's our new homeroom teacher!" Toji basically summed up the publicly presentable feelings of the male half of the class.

Mike himself quickly connected the rumors about the new operations director with the tasteless jokes concerning her, and while he said. "I'm sure you all consider an eduction in several subjects more important then that." his thoughts on the matter were summed up in 'Why couldn't my CQC instructor have been like her?' Regardless, her passenger must be the new pilot they picked up. By the look of his posture, build and attitude, about 8 years too late. Even as Mike headed out to meet the director and handle the paperwork of the transfer into the school, the little voice of survival in the back of his head was screaming. 'No Intel on the first pilot. More than enough on the second. Yet abruptly the day before the enemy arrives, a third they had totally missed before, for which there is no file, who happens to be the commanders son, is found?' In the words of a Mon calamari 'Its a trap!' In this way he missed the arrival of the wayward Hikari.

* * *

Gently prodding Shinji into heading up to the class while she handled the paperwork, Misato barely had time to turn around before the teacher showed up.  
"Right, paperwork on the new student." Rather taciturn for Misato's taste, given the respect with a hint of fear of her rank she was starting to get used to when dealing with the civilians in Tokyo-3. Still, civility is often the best ammunition.  
"Of course."  
"Better to do this in my little office, down this hall please." Mike motioned the way, letting her head first. This did not go unnoticed by Misato, sending up a slight red flag of odd behavior. 'oh come on, whats he going to do that I can't handle, he's not armed.' A similar assessment was running at the same time in Mike's mind. 'That hesitation is good, it's idiotic to leave your back to someone you don't know. Still, I wonder why she is not armed.'

The teachers lounge had been essentially a break room, the apparent janitors closet leading to the monitor banks for the surveillance system that now looked down primarily on empty class rooms and halls filled only with ghosts. Now it had become the de-facto common room for the remaining Section-2 staff, a couch in the corner, a desk, a couple of tables, and the armoire that actually held the armory rack of small arms for immediate response next to the microwave and the bookshelf piled with a odd combination of technical manuals for the monitoring equipment and the required teachers editions of the textbooks. Even if someone found the armoire odd, they would not get into the janitors closet where the real tools were kept for when things went totally FUBAR. Dragging over a comfy chair to the position in front of his working desk and offering Misato a seat, Mike settled into his own.

"I understand you took over the position of legal guardian for the young mister Ikari?" An innocuous enough opening question.  
"Well the idea of having Shinji live here on his own sounded ridiculous. I understand the the commander can't take him-" the image of their mutual boss trying to raise a child sent shivers down their spines, after all, look at Rei. "and anyone who saw where they were planning on housing him would have objected." Misato's conviction was firm on that point. Mike was surprised at the answer and her vehemence, but fired off his follow up query even as he signed another document. In his best 'not that I care' voice he said.  
"As far as I know, Rei has been living in the area all the pilots will be assigned too, same building even." 'Now we see some truth.' Mike had seen that place, he had seen all of the living quarters of his charges, he was senior agent (now that was not much of a feat in his detachment anymore, given that he had about a fifth the staff.) making it part of his job as he saw it. If the rumor that Rei was the Commanders illegitimate daughter was true, then he must hate her to have her live in that building. Again Mike's mind asked the question 'Why does she stay there? Why doesn't she even bother to clean the place up on the inside?' forcibly taking his mind back to the present he observed Misato's face as she went through a succession of emotions. 'Rei has been living in the area all the pilots will be assigned.' ran through Misato's mind as disbelief turned to indignity and then horror.  
"I... was not aware of that-" Mikes mind amended that with 'no kidding.' "this is something that I will need to take up with the personnel department. Tomorrow." Misato's voice turned that word into a statement of fact, earning her a notch of Mikes respect.  
"Actually, Pilot Ayanami's living arrangements are managed by the Commander directly." For a moment as Mike dropped his little bombshell, Misato's mind raced at how he knew Rei was a pilot, only to detour at the commander and screech to a halt. The tiny moments hesitation surprised Mike, not in its presence, but in its shortness.  
"Then I will take it up with him." Again, statement of fact. Mike concluded that the new Operations Director actually cared, and decided to drop a little advice.  
"Just between you and me, he just signs off on the paperwork every 3 months, if you could get the personnel department to slip a change of residence request in there instead of a renewal..." To Misato the knowing grin of a grunt in the trenches helping a fellow work around the chain of command rather then through it settled her questions about if she could trust the old man or not.  
"Well it would be a shame for her to be forced to move, but when the Commander tells you to jump-"  
Mike finished the NERV unique iteration on the joke with relish. "-you find the nearest cliff."

Even as Misato headed out of the room and he filed the paperwork away, Mike faced a frustrating situation. For this job with Section-2, he had his old rank reinstated, they were alone, and he had shown knowledge of classified material. Misato never addressed him as Lt. Cournal Jenkins. 'Idiots up stairs have her out of the loop.' rather then try again to figure out the mind of his superiors, even as he heard the voice of his old buddy saying 'There's a truth here being kept hidden, don't you feel compelled to drag it out into the light of day?' Mike made the call to tell her after a day to observe this third child in his natural state.

* * *

On the sidewalk half a block from her school, Hikari heaves a subtle sigh of relief. 'Finally, they stop following.' The idea of having NERV guards following her everywhere would be ridiculous if it wasn't happening. She knew their school was guarded, anyone with an eye could see that, but that was school, this is eternal. Even as she strides past the last bus stop, Hikari's mind is headed to go over last night in the hope that this time it would make more sense. The day of the evacuation drill that turned out to be a real evacuation, Father had left a message on the answering machine telling her Kodama and Nozomi that he would be in late if at all. His tone had been off, but Hikari had put it down to stress at the time.

The message on her cell phone had not been so simple. That cell phone held a lot more significance then anyone outside of the family knew. It was three things to Hikari: the last thing Tokaido Horaki had ever given anyone before her death; the ultimate proof that her mother trusted her the most; and to Hikari herself, the symbol of her responsibility to care for the household she had inherited. Three days ago it had served as the messenger of auspicious news. "Hikari, tomorrow night I am going to announce big news. I want everyone there for this, please get Nozomi and Kodama to be there." The news was sure to be good, when mother had passed beyond the veil Father had simply told them, no deflecting, not that he had been in a place of mind to do that. But good news was always held for dinner when everyone in the family could hear it at once and celebrate. It had been a long time since they had held such a dinner as a family, so this one would be special, would be perfect.

Nozomi was easy to convince, mention of the menu had her trying to make time go faster. Kodama had taken a little more... persuasion. It was amazing what threatening to call in sick for her could do for her pliability. Naturally arrangements had to be made, but it had worked out, and no "But the department heads are going crazy over some other department jacking our Magi time so were really busy!" lie would get her our of it.

That night, for the first time since four years ago when they had stopped their nightly meal tradition, the entire Horaki bloodline was gathered around the table. Father said as each of them passed the plates around to get their fill. "I asked Hikari to arrange this for a reason." Kodama rolled her eyes even as Nozomi's eyes changed the target of their fixation from the beef flavored tofu plate to her father. "Yesterday I was forced to work late because my boss did not show up, and today I have inherited his position as Director of Evangelion Maintenance." The light shining from his smile held a tiny pit of darkness within it, Nozomi did not see it, Kodama did not sense it, but Hikari had dealt with her father more then anyone during the past four years. Even as she celebrated with them, she realized there was more to this. Hikari's father continued. "Because of this, along with the normal benefits, I am now considered a vital employee of NERV." His tone started jubilant, but fell into seriousness as he reached the end of the sentence. Kodama looked up with raised eyebrow. "NERV is under the UN, and that means they do have enemies. Because of the risk posed by them, and because of how important this job is, they are assigning bodyguards to each of you."  
Hikari had known intellectually that NERV was essentially a military organization, but this seemed a drastic step. Kodama threw her head back and groaned, memory's of Section-2 and their idiocy playing like the worst clip show of her life in front of her eyes. Everyone at NERV knew they were the source by which NERV had the best rumor mill in the world. "Great, now my private life is over. After just two years out from under her-" Hikari took offense at the direct attack on her for doing the job she had inherited. "-I get to have all of NERV privy to my life."

"Well maybe now you will need to be accountable to yourself. I'm sure that you can decide what's best for you, you always have." Jiro could only watch as Hikari and Kodama's little sniping match started its' thousandth round over her definition of 'private' life. A fate thankfully averted by Nozomi who finally stopped screwing up her face trying to figure it out and asked. "Bodyguards?"  
The two elder sisters leaned out from cover and with a nod set aside their sniping duel. "People assigned to keep you safe all the time when your not at home, work or school." Nozomi took Kodamas answer turned her head to the side to think about it for a moment and asked. "Don't we have police for that?" Looking over to Hikari for help, the pleading look on Kodamas and Jiros faces compelled her to try and explain.  
"Nozomi, you know how royal families have guards all the time?" At the 8 year olds nod she continued. "Well the police protect everyone, but important people with enemies have guards on their family so that if the police aren't there, they are still safe." 'What good would hurting or kidnapping one of us do? Kensuke seems to think these 'Evangelions' are giant mecha. Its not like father is a pilot, he just fixes them... constantly.' As the realization of that the last piece fell into place, the constant lateness, the being called at all hours, the terrible damage left behind when one of those things functioned properly. Kensuke's comment about it surely taking a nuclear reactor to power one of them, linked up to the images of devastation from Pakistan and Indian cities only overladen on their home. Even as Nozomi started asking if this meant she was a princess, Hikari was desperately trying not to be sick.

* * *

Back in the present, Hikari realized she had just tried putting in the wrong locker combination a second time in her distraction. Putting in the right one, she exchanged the books in hand for the morning classes textbooks. But her boxed lunch made of leftovers drags her mind back to last night, to what she has put off, and why she is here now.

Asking Jiro to help her wash the dishes was a simple pretense to hold a private conversation, Hikari had used it several times, just as Tokaido had before. Father passed her a plate while he grabbed a towel.  
"Thanks for making that on such short notice." It was a warm heartfelt compliment. "And for taking care of Nozomi." another compliment, but tinged with regret, for in her mind Hikari knew what he had said. ' And for being a mother to Nozomi.' A few moments passed in silence then, the shadows of the last of the setting sun though the kitchen window growing to swallow the last of the light.

Toweling off a plate, Hikari opened the conversation. For Jiro, her calm "Jiro" held the weight of a church bell tolling. It had been here before, washing these same dishes, after this same recipe even.  
"Jiro, we have to leave Tokyo-3 reassignment or just quitting, we can't stay here." Even as he staggered inside, he realized it was not his wife's words he was hearing, but his own, thrown back at him in a twisted mirror of 4 years ago.  
"Hikari, I can't just pick up roots and leave, at the very least let's not do this to Nozomi." Exactly what she had said to him, only the name had changed.  
"Jiro, Its just a job, even if it is a good one, we can't risk it. We don't know the risks so we can't judge this right." Hikari's voice had risen on that second sentence, louder than she had spoken to her father in years. All pretense of washing the dishes had ended, and Jiro found himself looking at brown eyes filled with opposition again, the stool she stood on cut from his sight by the shadow of the kitchen island. This time he was the one calling for them to stay, in desperate memory Jiro pulled out the same arguments he had lost too, shards of memory displacing the scene before him.  
"I just reached a new level of success, I have friends here. The girls have friends here! We can't just ask them to give up everything over what might happen." Then the script went south.  
"Might happen? Did you not see the news? Jiro you can not tell me that needing to work on something that causes that much damage when it -_works right_- is not too much risk for our family!" Hikari shouting was not uncommon, to a point he did not notice it. She shouted at Nozomi to get her to move faster, she shouted at Kodama to get her to move slower. Hikari did not shout at her father. Jiro wheeled, the towel gripped between his hands straining even as he all but screamed back.  
"Tokaido, NERV's work is too important to just pack up and leave!- "Hikari's stunned mind staggered. Jiro had not spoken his wife's name at home in four years. "-Your mother said that to me once, until three days ago I didn't really believe it." Then time seemed to deform for her. "_Tokaido_, NERV's work is to important too just pack up and leave! _Your mother_ said that to me once, until three days ago I didn't really believe it." Her father had said that. Had not realized that in the same sentence he had called Hikari by his wife's name, and by her actual relationship. By the time Hikari was coherent enough to understand him again, he had taken her silence as assent and was trying to explain.  
"Those pilots-" her father was on the verge of tears. "no one in charge cares if they are sent out in a broken Evangelion, if they are sent out broken themselves." Realizing that he had tears in his eyes Jiro took the towel and dried his eyes. Looking at his daughter with more motivation then she had seen since mother died, he said to her. "I can't just abandon them Hikari."

When the dishes were put away, the task done in silence, she realized that there was a question nagging at her. Putting Nozomi to bed, she walked up behind her father, sitting crouched forward over his laptop, working or studying in the darkened front room. "Something is wrong at work, fundamentally wrong, isn't it?" seeing him sigh she waited for his reply.  
"There are some questions you must not ask, even among family." There came her answer. She was not father's partner in his mind. Even when NERV had given them strict rules about what information they could talk about, there had been no secrets between Tokaido and Jiro. "There can be no secrets between partners, so there can be no secrets between a husband and wife. No matter how painful knowing may be, not knowing is by far worse." Her mother had said that to her when she asked about their fight doing the dishes. But for better or worse, partner or not, she had to know what it was about NERV that would cause her father so much stress. No amount of responsibility could make her father act like that, make him forget himself.

Striding into the classroom, Hikari set the problem aside for later, there was nothing she could do for the moment. Information about NERV could be found from others, otherwise how would Kensuke have so many things right about it? The fact that Kensuke and Toji were so rarely seen apart that some called them mirrors of each other was just a side benefit. She would not let it affect her decision, this was _her_ family at stake. But for now, there was a student transferring into the school who would need help.

* * *

The classroom was mostly full as Hikari headed to her desk at the front of the classroom. Even as she settled into her seat and readied her supplies, the background buzz of the room parted and she listened in on Toji and Kensuke as usual.  
"That's terrible, how bad was it?" The concern in Kensukes voice was genuine, but still limited.  
"It's... shes never going to live the same again, they kept telling us that the scaring would heal but I don't think so." The wish to do something about it, even when there was nothing he could do to help in Toji's voice brought both a blush to Hikari's cheeks and a recurring thought to her mind. 'That hopelessly cute chivalry of his again.' Even as she shook her head to clear it from her mind, Toji was laying the pressure on his friend.  
"That's why I need to know about NERV and those robots. I can't just let that pilot get away with letting her be hurt like that!" The sound of his fist meeting his palm drew furtive looks for a moment before Kensuke replied.  
"Look, I don't keep this stuff just sitting on my hard drive. I can get this together by lunch if Sensei and his second don't interrupt." As much as being called that annoyed her, the possibility of finding out a little about NERV being dropped into her bag was too good to pass up.  
"Oh great, lunch. Why did they have to close the cafe? Now I'm going to be stuck getting something from the vending machines today." Toji's melodramatic tone brought a calm smile to his audiences face.  
"You realize how odd it is that there even was one? You know what I said about the security being way too tight around here. Besides,-" the light glinted off Kensukes glasses dangerously as he shifted them. "The trucks that supplied it are the same ones that supply the Geo Front."  
"Are you on that again? Look man, I told you a hundred times, a supply truck is a supply truck." Toji's pronouncement deflated his friend as usual. But it was at that point all conversation was abruptly stilled by the unexpected arrival of the class mystery.  
Rei's arrival tended to dampen conversation, but it was her bandaged form picking her bag back up after shutting the door with a wince that put a mote of pity among the confusion surrounding the blue haired girl. Setting the bag down without bothering to withdraw the supplies and taking up her typical stance of staring out the window, but unable to prop her head up on her right arm as usual, muted the conversation resumed.  
"You know, Rei works for NERV."  
"You remind me of that theory every day."  
"Its not a theory! I saw the ID Card. You think she is a pilot?" That comment immediately drew the full attention of Toji. "I mean, what else could she do for them? And she comes in injured a couple of days after one of the Eva's is deployed..." In the mind of Toji Suzahara, a lynch mob became a seething crowd of arguing protesters. 'Rei is a pilot? Is she The Pilot? I can't hit a girl, that would just be wrong!' But the absurdity of sending someone that frail, oddity or not, into battle set aside the problem. Still, Toji found himself staring at the back of Rei's head pondering something other than her physical attributes.  
Across the room in the center of the ring of empty desks that had been maintained around herself since the first day she had attended school, Rei's mind was paying no concern for her observers. Locked in the contemplation of EUD and the puzzle it presented. 'I am not human, but by the scientific definition neither is pilot Ikari now.' The flashing image of the green eyes that had replaced the blue ones she had first beheld overlaid on the cherry tree she observed each day. Where the next thought came from Rei would have pondered if she had been paying attention to it rather then the images of Shinji. 'Does that mean he will become like me?' but the ingrained response of nearly a decade snuffed the thought with only an errant twitch. 'No one will be like us.'

* * *

Shinji looked up to the sign at the classroom door with the same fears as so many other times. 'Why do I think it will be the same in 2-A?' {You're just as worthless as the other times.} Still, even if he hesitated at the threshold he would simply be pushed across it. Thus with a sigh, Shinji Ikari entered class room 2-A for the first time. From his viewpoint it was a fairly normal if sparsely populated room. Still the low number of students did not explain the empty space around Rei's seat. 'That's just not right.' Even as Hikari rose and introduced herself as the class representative, Shinji decided to take one of those seats. 'They don't understand.' {No one can understand what its like} A glance over to the alabaster and azure figure staring out the window. 'No one who is not a _pilot._' {Even there, she has not changed.} The fact it would get him away from everyone else, and the glaring forms of a boy in a track suit and a kid with a video camera did not influence his decision at all. {coward.}  
As the boy who surely was the new student entered the classroom, Hikari studiously ignored his look at Rei, though it not being gaping astonishment or drooling was pleasant. "Right, I'm the class representative Hikari, we don't really have assigned seats so pick out a place you want." It was clear to her from his distracted "oh, thanks." he was not paying much attention.  
Deciding that leaving it alone would be fine given that Sensei had arrived and class was about to begin, Hikari left him alone as he settled in behind Rei.  
The arrival of the transfer in was not unnoticed by 'The Stooges' and as Mike made the announcement that "Shinji Ikari will be joining us for the foreseeable future." Kensuke whispered words of far greater import than he realized to Toji.  
"On the other hand, why would anyone transfer into a war zone unless they had a compelling reason? He didn't even react to Rei." This promptly turned Toji's suspicions to the now quailing boy as he was introduced at the front formally.  
Mike was working off the well prepared script for solving the rumor mill issue as he called the Commanders son to the front. 'Looks like a nugget on his first day jitters.' Since Shinji refused to make eye contact, Mike had to launch into the plan with a less then stellar reasoning.  
"Ikari, I'm afraid that non prescription contacts are against the school codes." That simple statement sparked Hikari to realize that she had not noticed his solid green eyes during their brief conversation. As a move calculated to see what Shinji would do, it worked as planned.  
With hung head turned away from his instructor Shinji responded. "I am sorry..."  
"Your going to need to take those off before class." even as he spoke harshly, the old warrior backpedaled from his mental image of a Mini-Gendo. 'Come on kid, make something up, you're the old bastards son, surely you can.' Seeing the boy clenching and unclenching his right hand, Mike prompted him again.  
"Well?"  
Shinjis reply of "Its... a condition." forced him to step it up, tapping his foot loudly enough for the audience to hear.  
"What kind of condition?" 'Come on, you can do it, don't make me lead you.' Rei then answered for him.

"It is a genetic condition Sensei." Hikari was no more immune to the need to stare at her then the rest of the class. The gears in their 'teachers' mind were turning. 'Rei spoke up to aid him, without direct orders. Interesting.'  
"Like Albinism then?" As Rei nodded assent and Shinji at last was waved back to his seat, Mike justified his actions to himself. 'Ok, so I feel pity for the kid, clearly HQ is half assing this. Throwing him a line isn't showing favoritism, its just that Rei never needed one. Come to think of it, no one asked about Rei.'  
Naturally, this did nothing to quiet the whispering which blanketed the class like a hoarfrost. Finally at the end of her patience Hikari stood up, turned to face the rest of the class and cleared her throat. When that failed, she took the more drastic step, and simply shouted. "Attention front and center!" The instant snap to quiet attention on the board behind him was pleasant for Mike. The image of Hikari in a uniform with officers bars when he turned his head to nod his thanks to her was not quite as pleasant. 'Would make a perfect XO though.' The matter settled he launched into the days lecture concerning the impact of Russia's cold war arsenal on military's post second impact.  
Being that he could have taught the lecture himself, Kensuke was not paying any attention to it. What did pull his attention from checking over his footage of Misato was the IM from Toji.  
TS: You think that new kid is the pilot?  
After a moments consideration, Kensuke replied.  
KA: Its possible he is _a_ pilot, but if your asking if he is the pilot in that battle, I think its an even toss up with Rei. She has the bandages.

TS: I won't hit a girl, but I just can't let this go, find out for me.  
KA: Alright, give me a bit.

'Hot Chick' being higher priority then 'Help Friend' Kensuke was naturally putting it off to check through the footage, but the mention sparked his memory of the odd flash in his shot of her car. Rewinding it left Kensuke with a mystery. 'What makes someones eyes glow?' Red eye affected still shots, and this was green. As odd as green eyes are it was zooming in that left him absolutely baffled at the three little black dots around his pupil. 'Glow first, then specks.'  
The internet had been built to survive the kind of disaster that was Second Impact, so it had survived. Most of its commercial sites had died in the ensuing lack of speedy delivery, but the core of informative pages had remained. Wikipedia remained Kensuke's first option for information available to the public, and the window informing Mike of Kensuke's accessing it that popped up did not even raise the teachers eyebrow. Kensuke's eyebrows rose on the search return for glowing eyes. 'Tapetum lucidum, a layer of tissue in the eye that reflects visible light back through the retina. Humans don't have that...' Pulling out his video files on Rei, Kensuke skimmed them for glowing eyes and found nothing. 'Wait a moment...'  
Mike ran things loose when it came to information security and his job, letting NERV specialists deal with it. Seeing a warning that Kensuke was going searching the NERV low security files during class after he had taken the kid aside on the roof and laid down the realities of the situation to him; he decided to let it go through. 'This ought to be informative, and letting him think he's better than he really is never hurts.'  
Kensuke would have done a little victory dance at beating NERV's security if he hadn't been in class. Searching the medical files revealed piles of notes. 'Medical report Shinji Ikari, physical evaluation Shinji Ikari, a hit on a unerased Electronic note pad?' Opening the file caused it to display to both Kenesuke and Mike, causing the latter to nearly falter mid sentence at the signature. Their thoughts ran in parallel 'Dr. Akagi? That's the head of the scientific branch!' While the teacher pondered just how odd it was for her to have written an evaluation on his new student, Kensuke was busy reading furiously. 'Ikari S, Genetic change registered, new physical traits in eyes caused by Evolution Under Duress effect during last sortie. Possibility of contamination ruled out. Possibility of similar effect on Rei unknown. Further study not time sensitive' That was the smoking gun his friend wanted, and a whole world of new questions. As Kensuke used his low tech data theft solution of the print screen button and covered his tracks out of the system, his instructor was just getting started on his own work under cover of finding his notes.  
'This is stupid, are they running the staff so ragged they forget the basic procedures?' The problem of incompetent data control went out with the bathwater when Mike realized with a start 'Aida does not have clearance for that. _I_ don't have clearance for that.' Then he made his decision. 'I am not going to let Akagi's mistake get that kid killed for knowing something he shouldn't' Erasing the access totally would be impossible, but Mike had friends who had gotten him a little 'off the books' tool of the technical divisions which could make any access look like it came from your own computer. Even as he ran it and resumed his lecture the inherent irony of using a tool designed to let someone cover for a friend at work to save that poor boys hide made him grin. 'Someday I need to thank Ms. Ibuki for that.'

But while Kensuke's hide was being saved, Shinji's hide was being thrown into the fire.  
KA: I just checked it out, your not going to believe half of this.  
TS: Well, is it Shinji or Rei?  
KA:Yes.  
The dirty look from Toji was enough to make Kensuke relent.  
KA: It says something about Shinji happened 'during last sortie'. But mentions Rei by name later.  
TS: Thanks.  
And for Toji at least, the massive problem of what to do if it was Rei was solved. 'New kid, your getting the lesson you deserve today.'

* * *

As the time for lunch break arrived, Mike was left pondering what to do about Toji and his little appointment with the Commanders son. 'When in doubt, let the chips fall where they may.' Still, pilot security was his job, so bringing a couple of the on duty staff wouldn't hurt.

As the class gathered their things to head to lunch, Shinji was faced with another familiar choice in a unfamiliar place, where to eat. His wanderings in the time before class had found the exit to the roof, and the vista had given him pause. 'Quiet and with a view.' {Isolated and without needing to look at other people.}  
On the roof of the school, Rei set eating to the left of the door as she habitually did, only for her isolation to be broken by the door swinging open in front of her.

Taking in the roof's impressive sweep of view, and letting the door close unwatched behind him, Shinji took the time to walk over to the edge facing the hills before plopping himself down to the humble meal. 'At least I was able to make it, barely got back to Misato's apartment... home. Barely got back home after all that craziness' it was still hard to fix in his mind that he now lived at that seemingly little apartment. His room alone was bigger than the room he had at his uncles place, at least before they had died and the social workers had replaced them. 'Not that there was much difference really.'  
Rei watched Shinji sit and stare at the hills, unsure what conclusions to draw about the third child. But Rei was not the only one watching, because Toji had finally dragged out of Kensuke the location he figured Shinji would go, and had reached the top of the stairs. Naturally none of them had the perspective provided by the one way sliding wall behind which Mike and the two section-2 duty members stood. As handy as it was, it did seem rather overkill to Mike to have a hidden entrance to the roof disguised as a air conditioner.  
Toji's determined expression did not change on seeing Shinji's back, and that worried Kensuke more then he liked to admit.

With a swaggering step and commanding voice Toji stepped forth onto the field of honor. "Hay new kid." his challenge rang out. Turning around to see the boy in the tracksuit staring him down from across most of the roof with the cinematographer behind him Shinji's mind lept to conclusions. 'I am about to get hurt, a lot.' {And there's no escape for the guilty is there?} Toji grabbing him by his collar and fixing him to the spot without speaking another word reinforced the impression. It also prompted one of the Section-2 agents to reach for the open button on their little spy hole with a muttered.

"Grand." Only to have his hand stopped by Mike.  
"Wait, this needs to play out, Ikari is in no serious danger, and I need to see where he stands socially."  
"Sir?"  
"Son, social dynamics of soldiers and young people of this age group are my two main skills, trust me, if it starts getting out of hand I'll let you loose." Knowing better then to disobey an order, no matter how stupid it seemed, the anonymous agent shrugged.  
Outside Shinji was being given a little information about things.  
"His sister got hurt during the attack. By the giant robot, not that thing that attacked." Before Shinji's mind could conjure up the storm of guilt, Toji broke in.  
"That idiot pilot got her arm burned off!" The look of haunted anger in Toji's eyes as he forced Shinji to look at them froze the boy.  
"She got crushed under a flake of the armor, if the water main hadn't broke-" Shoving Shinji away from himself, Toji interrupted Kensuke's explanation.  
"She would be dead!" Toji's voice was likely audible across campus for a moment before he concluded. "So I have got to pound you."  
"Why me?" Shinji desperately groped for anonymity as a blanket, only to have it torn away.  
"Look new kid, I'm not stupid, only freaks like Rei can pilot those things. You can't expect to look me in the eye without reminding me of what happened."

As Toji wound up, Shinji could not bring himself to move. 'Get out of the way!' {Why? Don't you deserve it?} Even Mike was nearly screaming at the scrawny boy to move.  
Then Rei was standing between Toji's right hook and Shinji. Reflexively, the track-suited boy veered off and stumbled forward instead of striking her. Inside the little duck-blind the question was asked aloud.  
"What the hell is Rei doing?" Mike did not get the chance to stop the section-2 agent from opening the blind this time, but they still went unnoticed it seemed.  
"Get out of the way." Toji's words did not match his thinking, which was thoroughly asking 'WHY?'

"If he had not intervened, I would have perished." Rei's answer came.  
A long moment of confused silence rained as everyone tried to make sense of this answer. Shinji finally broke it.

"Rei, what?" 'Are you doing protecting me' {Naturally, she does not know any better, she does not know you yet.} The reply was swift and decisive.  
"This is counter productive, without Pilot Ikari's actions, Mari would be dead with the rest of the human race."  
"Well what am I supposed to do about it then?" Toji angrily demanded, trying to seize back the initiative. Shinji inhaled, only for Rei to suspend his answer.  
"Additionally, the Section-2 guards watching us currently are authorized to use lethal force in defense of pilots." Turning around to see the door to the roof, Toji took in a pair of section two guards with their pistols at hand, and the instructor, who waved incongruously. Shinji at last found the chance to speak.

"I'm sorry. I... No one told me people got hurt." {You never even asked.}  
The abrupt flight of a flock of birds went uncared for in the tension, only for the Evacuation alarms to slice though it. Turning to Shinji, Rei somehow cut through the noise.  
"Pilots are required to report to NERV at this time." at Shinji's blinking she turned to Mike and his two goons. "You will provide transportation immediately."  
With an air of finality, she wheeled upon Toji and Kensuke.  
"Civilians will report to the shelters."  
Seeing Shinji had not moved, Rei took the expedient route, and grabbed his hand, pulling him over to the hidden elevator. Mike shook his head and curtly ordered the section-2 agents to get moving, heading over to his other charges to get them to the shelter. 'Well trained, if as subtle as a hydrogen bomb.'

* * *

While to Mike, Shinji's lack of resistance or nervousness provoked questions, the simple fact was that since an early age he had learned the path of least resistance was the only one worth taking. Fighting fate was pointless, and so long as there was someone, anyone really, giving him direction he would go along with it. A gang would have loved to get their hands on him. So it was that even as he was lead out to the waiting van by Rei's hand, his thoughts were able to wander.  
'Why is she doing this? Because its her duty?' {Don't be simple, its just the most expedient method.} As the van reached the linear train and descended, the view distracted him again. The birds weren't even reacting at the shore of the lake, and the personnel were still taking their time. The looks on the guards at the gate to the HQ sealed the deal. 'Bored, very, very bored.' {Its easy for them to relax, they have their own monster to send out now.} That was perhaps the worst part, the sudden realization that the inhuman trait forced upon him had come into play as if he had it all his life. Still, as he refocused on the girl holding his hand, he couldn't help but think. 'Maybe it's not all bad.'

The rush to the entry plug was carried out with haste, but not the kind of nightmare run of terror that characterized the first time. Rei found herself in the unusual position of setting the pace, rather then following. Guiding the third child to the correct room was expected, having to lead him by the hand to the cages was not. 'It is not unpleasant however.'

The arrival of their pilot to his station would signal the final stage of Jeiros exhausting sprint to have Unit-01 ready before the drill. Even the presence of Ritsuko looking over his shoulder for the operation and the pressure it placed on him could not stop him from smiling at the reversal of the normal when Rei lead a gawking Shinji onto the gantry. The white suit, blue hair and red eyes and focused manner contrasted with the blue black and grey, dark hair and green eyes like a flower arrangement. 'Even their suits match up well.' Still, this meant his immediate work was done, so he snapped up the checklist and headed out one of the service hatches.

The mind under the head of bottled blond hair saw something totally different. 'Rei being suited up is superfluous but reflexive.' The fact not having the sling would stress her arm and cause her pain rose to her mind in a sense of schadenfreude. Turning to the business tone she habitually employed Ritsuko moved on.

"The suit fits as expected then?"  
Shinji's awkward shifting of his stance answered her question before his reply.  
"Once Ayanami explained how it worked."  
Looking at Rei for her reaction lead to the usual, so it seemed the new element was not doing much to her. Not bothering to look at the boy, she continued.  
"Good. Today is your first synch test with the full gear, and your reaction time on the drill was acceptable. Because of how important it is that you be prepared, your options on travel will be restricted." 'Not that he is likely to object.' the wry thought finished her introduction speech, ending her obligation to her employer. Then it hit her what Rei was doing with her good arm.  
"Rei, why are you holding hands with Shinji?" Ritsuko's query was forcibly calm. While Shinji turned red at this situation Rei's conscious mind remarked. 'It became unnecessary to maintain contact on entering the room. Why continue it?' The long instant was resolved by the simple 'It was natural.' Rei's words aloud were in answer to the spoken question however, not the implied one.  
"He kept being distracted on the way over here. It was the simplest way to keep him from wandering."

Ritsuko carefully avoided giving any indication she had noticed Rei evade a question. 'It wasn't mission critical, and given how much Gendo has been demanding, he can damn well watch the tapes himself and query Rei about it.' A waved arm towards the Eva sufficed for the remaining instruction.

In the pribnow box, Misato stood prepared to provide what little help she could. 'Ok I don't do the science thing, but no one here knows how to deal with Shinji.' The seat that would normally hold Maya was filled in by one of the secondary crew, while she herself had a totally different console that had been hastily been added in, a desk with a forest's roots of wires leading to and from it. Even as Ritsuko avoided stumbling over the power cord that ran into the room through the door, provoking Misato to compare again NERV HQ to Germany. 'Naturally they built this room without sockets, it's for Eva monitoring, why would anyone need to plug something in?' The German base had been built by military designers, so everything was less elegant, but it had a rugged usability that appealed to her. Then Rei entered the room, tripping over the cord for an instant before she seemed to right herself unnaturally. 'What is-' the thought ended the same in Ritsukos mind '-Rei doing here?' The sound of someone tripping over the cord, and the quiet grumbles it provoked from the haggard Maya had called Ritsukos attention for a moment.  
"Not that I mind, but why are you two here?" The motions to Rei and Misato made clear who she was speaking too, and to their credit the crew went on without distraction. Rei blinked, while Misato simply said.  
"Moral support." 'God is she snappy lately.' the irritated tone of the operations director resonated oddly with Rei's flat.  
"I have no official station at this time." Between Shinji not looking her in the eyes, and Rei's inhumanly unblinking stare, Ritsuko was tired of human interaction at this point. Thus the snappish  
"That does not answer my question Rei." which managed to pull Misato into defending the strange girl.  
"So she is here to support Shinji too, what of it?" Before Ritsuko could open her mouth and get off a remark, Misato dropped in "Your not trying to quit smoking _again_ are you?"

Inside the entry plug, the terror inducing sensations of the Nerve connections returning was drowned by the sheer normality of the argument proceeding to be broad cast over the link to the box. Being able to see their gestures as if he was standing next to them matched his ears. Taking in the entire area at the same time, Rei drew his attention. 'Why is she staring at me? Is she really there to support me?' The thought drew his attention to the massive orange form of Unit 00 where it was across the bay. Technicians were working on it, lead by that man who had been on the gantry. The tag said Jerio Horaki.  
"Related to the class Rep?" slipped from his mouth, even as the argument died in the box.  
Ritsuko calling for the connection of "the A connection up to A-9" did nothing to resolve the matter. Misato pushing over the technicians chair to appropriate the mic was a little amusing though.  
"Nearly everyone in this city works for NERV, so its a good bet." The little pauses in Misatos speech always portended something that would make him blush. "Why, worried your love interest has a stern father?" The blushing denial of that theory was cut out of Shinji's attention when abruptly the entire world sharpened, attended by the feeling of restraints locking him into place.  
"A-10 and all final connections made, absolute borderline crossed with minimal fluctuations. Link steady at 43% ratio." coolly professional and without the warmth of Maya's delivery that Ritsuko was used to after all Rei's synch tests. A glance at her fellow scientist showed Maya pouring over data 'I would love to see that right now, rather then holding the hand of this kid.' Prompting her badly over taxed brain to plop out an idea she should have had earlier.  
"Well Misato, the Eva is operational, so this is Operations Director territory." thinking to herself 'I love that look of unpreparedness!' Ritsuko left her old friend holding the Bio-weapon.  
"Right. Shinji, since things seem to be in order on the technical end, lets get to some actual training."  
"Alright."

The restraints being released was a good feeling, and walking over to the wall with the 'Armament Deployment Zone' symbol on it easy, almost liberating. 'Wonder where that feeling came from.' Being faced with a rifle was a odd experience, and it felt like it weighed next to nothing.  
"Right, Shinji, this is a simulation rifle, some fancy tech lets us use it for training, and it has the same weight and balance as a real one." Having not dealt with this before he awkwardly put it to his shoulder.  
"Blast. Right, this is going to be harder then I thought, but we can do this, take your left hand and place it on the forward grip." 'No firearms training at all, and I can't just move him into place in that thing.'  
Naturally this brought up the problem of not having a physical rifle to grip. "Misato, I don't have a rifle in here with me." the quiet admission brought the issue to hand. 'Damn, if we just had- Wait, BINGO!' Wheeling around to where Rei was standing staring at Unit-01, Misato got to enjoy her smirking grin.  
"Rei, you had to overcome this problem before." Without moving at all the albino replied.  
"Correct."

"Well then!" striding over to grab Rei by the shoulders and lead her to the chair that Misato had stolen from Shigeru, she plopped Rei down in it. "Clearly you can tutor our dear Shinji in solving this. Just don't get any ideas about teaching him something off the books." Her finger wagging admonishment earned a groan from somewhere in the room and Rei's odd.  
"There is no operational manual for piloting Eva. Everything would be 'off the books' Director." Misato stumbled at her joke being dissected for a second.  
"Well, no study sessions without someone to look in on it then."  
"Supervision is unneeded, but acceptable." Rei began her instruction as Misato choked down a fit of laughter. 'No doubt about it, Rei is _the_ strightgirl ideal!'

* * *

Hours of confusing work with Rei later, Shinji was at last able to hold the pallet rifle correctly. The simulation showed Tokyo-3 untouched, and as it was when he arrived.  
"Right, the Eva has a pile of targeting assist software and hardware, so all you need to do now is put the target in the center and pull the switch." Misato's warm voice was pleasant after hearing Rei's chill. 'its not unpleasant just...' {Dead.} 'plain.'  
The image of the third angel that stepped out from behind a building at the other end of the city was off, it had a single mask rather than the double image emblazoned on his terrors. It still froze the blood in his veins. Taking refuge in a simple routine was a survival tactic Shinji had honed to art. A progression of cords, the recipe for a dish, anything that could be repeated endlessly on a loop.  
"Target in the center-" the rifle aimed in his hands like a lead bar, and the reticules lined up, turning to a fire symbol. 'Wait, that's off.' with so much of his attention focused on the alignment of the rifle barrel and its iron sights to the red core, the sense of things being off, like tofu improperly spiced on the tongue sprang to his mind. 'If I just move it a little...'  
Even as the image continued to advance from across the length of the city, Misato's concern about using a mobile image of the third angel seemed to be coming true. 'If our only pilot is gun-shy...' Then the Eva shifted its stance, a subtle motion of a human soldier, one she had seen on ranges before, writ massive in purple and green. Then the imitation gun fired.  
In the simulated city, shells rang out in a burst, the kick in Shinji's arms unfamiliar and unexpected, but compensated for without his realizing it. The shells detonated exactly center of the red ball his gaze was fixated upon, and the image collapsed before vanishing.  
"Director, the on board targeting computer is calling that a miss." Aoba sounded as confused as Misato looked on hearing the news.  
"What? The shots clearly hit in the sim."  
Maya spoke up for the first time, turning from the makeshift desk she had been furiously typing at.  
"The eyes changed, the Cameras didn't."  
All eyes drew to the mousy technician for an explanation.  
"The Cameras that monitor eye-movement affixed the wrong retinas when we started the simulation. Shinji is seeing correctly, but the sensor data being fed to the systems is off."  
"Right, so who do we call to fix this?"

"Calibration of all Evangelion testing equipment is the responsibility of the head of Evangelion Maintenance." Attention swiveled to Rei at the unexpected words.  
Seizing the initiative back, Misato got on the PA.  
"Would the head of Evangelion Maintenance please report to the Pribnow box. And no I don't care if you're busy." All Maya could think of the announcement was, 'Not the most diplomatic way to do things.'

* * *

Inside the core of Unit 01, the beast and the mother were restive, the activity's of training more like shifting for comfort in ones sleep then actual action. The beast subdued by the dreams of the mothers days in bliss being emitted by the exhausted spirit, fragments of its pilots life starting to intermix with them...

* * *

Authors Notes:  
Long time coming, for a list of reasons no one cares to read, but it is here, and the outline of the next episode is already done! (yay for bursts of inspiration) Due to the slight changes in events, the time-line I originally had planned out has been changed. Not a bad thing really, you can expect rather more immediate divergence from the Cannon events as a result, at least in the details. I still desperately need prereaders, so anyone who is interested and willing, message or email me.

Arjuna1356 : Half-Angel? No. Clearly not a normal human though. The question of what exactly is going on should be more clear after episode 04.

EUD remains a mystery, and repairs on Unit 00 proceed slowly. Even as he settles into a semblance of a normal life, can Shinji really deal with this? Could anyone? Next time on Blood of Blue Episode 04: Desperation in action/The Lonely Conqueror of God


	7. Episode 04: Desperation in action

Episode 04: Desperation in action/_The Lonely Conqueror of God_

Formatting information:

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

{Truth} (See the Author Notes if this confuses you.)

* * *

the above denotes Scene changes

Opening Note:

Due to plot, several Japanese Honorifics appear here which have not, and likely will not appear again in Blood of Blue. While a basic understanding of them is useful, it should not be required. As a writer, I am sometimes forced to do something I don't particularly like because it makes sense. See the End Note for additional details.

* * *

He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.-Friedrich Nietzsche

Rei dashed down the corridors of NERV towards the Eva Testing Bay. The Mark 3 Battle Rifle in her hands balanced against her body's center of gravity, its single clip fitted properly into the stock. Hunched over forward like this was both the best defensive and offensive position on the run, and the section 2 agent at the door, stoic even now, hit the open button on cue, allowing Rei to avoid slowing down in her headlong rush to the entry plug of Unit 01.

* * *

The mechanics smoothly lowered into the entry plug, grabbing onto his chair to lift it out of the entry plug of Unit 01 with a familiar lurch. The view of the bay was fairly spectacular, now that Shinji had gotten used to it and was not frozen in fear. Even as his chair reached the bridge, Shinji saw Rei in her plugsuit with a rifle in her hands, looking at him with that impassive manner he was just starting to get used to. Though she was breathing a little faster then normal.

"Pilot Ikari, you still do not take the proper stance with the Mark 3a Battle Rifle." Calm, factual, never hostile, never upset. 'That's why I work so well with her as a teacher.' Shinji's mind supplied. {Naturally, with her there is no consequence for failure.} The moment Shinji stood upright he was forced to catch the rifle Rei threw at him.  
"Hey what-"  
Rei stepped behind him and grabbed his hands, placing them into the correct position, even as she swept his legs wider into a proper stance with her own. For Shinji of course, the fact both of them were wearing their plug suits was overpoweringly apparent.  
"This is the proper stance for firing without moving."

The over-watch chamber technicians were filing out, the specter of fatigue lingering upon them. Ritsuko noted her friends yawn, and cracked a sardonic smile.  
"Aww, getting too old to pull an all nighter?" The look of fury that Misato returned over the clipboard full of paper work held a fragility inside it. Then it broke into a snide grin as she replied.  
"Well not all of us have a happy little assistant to bring us coffee." Stepping to the window to look out into the bay, the two senior officers of NERV present for the training put their wits back into their scabbards. Ritsuko marshaled the last of her focus to finish the sessions evaluation, glad that the Magi would have a transcript for her to use rather then having to write up the report later by memory.  
"True. Still, Shinji has made remarkable progress for less then a months effort."  
"I think we should be more concerned with Shinji's attitude, rather then his technical proficiency." Misato replied, looking out across the massive Eva bay to where Rei was still instructing the ever more red Shinji in his stance errors.  
"Well, I would rather have a reluctant hero then a dead fanatic myself. But I don't think keeping up this pace is going to help, the fatigue is gettin-" Ritsuko's point was rather made for her by the yawn, and she trailed off.  
Looking at Shinji nodding in response to another instruction from Rei, Misato's smile broke cover again.  
"Looks like Rei is warming him up to the prospect of staying for the long haul."

* * *

The actual entrance to NERV HQ really did not seem appropriate for the organization tasked with preventing the extinction of the human race, or so Jiro continued to think. 'Still, compared to what you would think a secret organization run by the UN to operate the Ultimate Decisive Battle Weapon would be like, this is actually kinda nice.' First shift all got on duty at around the same time, and because any given location in Tokyo-3 had about the same travel time to NERV HQ, traveling in groups was the norm. Even as he fished in his coat for his temporary ID card. 'God forbid they would issue a new one early just because I got a field promotion!' Jiro caught sight of the two faces that had been missing from his normal commute.

Ritsuko and Maya walked up to the main entrance in synch, Maya half turned around as she punctuated a point concerning 'Nephilim' genetics, the coffee in her hand swishing dangerously. "So there is nothing incompatible between Shinji's EUD and Nephilim genetics!" Ritsuko nodded sagely, and pulled out her ID badge, finally prompting Maya to notice where they were. The line of First shift personnel waiting to use the only doorway allowing them in, while the others handled the exhausted fourth shifts exit. While Maya dug about inside her laptop bag, Jiro asked the question that had entertained some of the idle moments of his commute.  
"So how are you two getting down here without using the tram?" his tone seemed genuinely interested, so Ritsuko decided to shelve her speculations on genetics and answer.  
"The Geo-front has the ability to house the whole of the core personnel on site. Given how much time our new project is taking up, I am just too damn tired to climb back up there by the time I am off work." The shrug seemed a little exaggerated to Jiro, but he was still getting used to being directly involved with the nosebleed level NERV authorities. Maya chipped in around the wallet in her mouth.  
"This project just eats up so much time it was quicker for us to snag one of the flats down here and set up there then constantly commute." The immediate irritation Maya's comment provoked in her superior was not something Jiro intended to speculate on.  
"So is the new pilot monitor equipment installation going well?" Maya inadvertently saved Jiro the awkwardness of shifting topics, and he jumped on the chance immediately.  
"Retrofitting of Unit 01's backup plug is finished already." Jiro turned around into Mayas beaming smile and Ritsuko's neutrality as the three of them passed through the internal security checkpoint before the elevators and while Jiro punched in their destination he continued. "There is also the matter of prototyping that new plug design. I figured that it would be a good idea to get input from you two, and the Ops Director before we got to the fabrication stage." Ritsuko raised an eyebrow at this while Maya stared off into space in what Jiro was rapidly coming to realize was deep thought rather then daydreams. 'Then again, what's to say her daydreams aren't full of technical info?' Still, Jiro was getting an inquiring gaze from his superior, so he went into an explanation.  
"The entry plug is an impressive piece of work, but the design is a decade old, materials and miniaturization technology, as well as experience with actual battlefield conditions are sure to mean we can make a better design now."  
This seemed to appease the head of science, and Jiro internally heaved a sigh of relief. The elevators halting at their destination seemed to jerk Maya out of her thoughts, and as they exited at the junction where their routes departed she stopped.  
"If you're going to make a new entry plug, you might as well start from scratch with input from sempai, Misato and myself." Stopped short by this, both Jiro and Ritsuko looked at her quizzically. "I had to go over the design notes of the entry plugs in the magi personally to assure the commander of some of my conclusions, especially the LCL filtering system and the. . ." Jiro was confused as she looked over at Ritsuko for approval before continuing. "contaminants left in the LCL after the battle." Jiro's flash of memory, of what they had found in the filters during the maintenance, and emptying his lunch at the realization that it was a fragment of a human skull left him feeling momentarily sick. Jiro quickly turned his attention back to what Maya was saying. "The size and thickness of the plug ends and walls is so much determined by the materials limits of the time of their design it struck me."  
"Well, if either of you could get director Katsuragi to arrange a meeting time to cover the topic I would appreciate it, the channels for getting the request to her by memo seem to be unreliable." Jiro had quickly learned that the Ops Director avoided as much as reading memos not from her own or the scientific branches. 'Not that most of them are worth reading.' he admitted.  
"I'm sure you can convince Misato to make some time within a couple of days, right Sempai?" the look of 'deer in headlights' on Ritsukos face as Maya threw the responsibility into her court was nearly enough, combined with Mayas 'Puppy-dog begging for a treat' look to make Jiro break into laughter.  
Visibly retreating, Ritsuko replied. "Ok, I'll get Misato to agree to sometime tomorrow." Her look to Jiro was filled with exasperation. "Going to need to be late in the day tomorrow, your schedule allow that?" Jiro's nod signaled their parting of ways.

* * *

Misato was drifting contentedly, if not blissfully, in a hazy world of semi-sleep, curled up under her blanket having a nicely pedestrian dream. Naturally, the universe could not allow this to continue indefinitely, and Shinji's opening her door was followed by his voice rousing her to a minimum of wakefulness.  
"Misato, I'm heading to school, don't you need to get going?" It was spoken with his usual care bordering on flinching reserved for observations that might irritate the listener. Internal irritation at hearing it woke Misato another notch. 'God, use your damn spine!'  
"Some conference with maintenance section. So today is a late day, so I'm sleeping in." Message delivered, Misato immediately started sliding back to the comfy spot totally out of the light, not even hearing Shinji's accepting "Oh, I'll prep some leftovers from dinner then."  
Naturally, the moment Shinji was out the door, and well before the warming of the leftovers could wake her nicely, her phone rang with its non emergency work ring-tone. The tiny fragment of Misato that was aware at all of the noise sorted through priorities, and when the twitching sweeps of her arm did not find the phone to silence it, roused her enough to snag it off the dresser.  
"Yes?"  
Ritsuko almost decided to hang up and call back later at the sense of exhaustion in her friends voice. But she had made the sacrifice of shacking up in the Geo-front, and the moral high ground that provided tipped her hand. "Time to get up sleepyhead, responsibility calls." 'Ok, so maybe I did enjoy that a little.' Misato's caustic reply would give Xenomorph blood a challenge.  
"Stupid demon, someone needs to seal it."  
Reply or no, Misato was awake now, and set up to see a handwritten note beside where the phone was. While her friend chuckled on the other end of the phone, she read it.

'Reheated leftovers from dinner, your phone was running out of power again so I swapped batteries with mine. - Shinji'

That at least explained why the phone was not where she left it. The forethought and care was enough to warm her up a little with the thought. 'Typical Shinji.'  
"Sorry, we're in the business of handing them over to children to control to fight other demons here, sealing is another department." The verbal response came into her ear as she set down to her breakfast beer, and she downed it quietly for once before replying.  
"So what's so important it couldn't wait for tonight?" Misato was in that odd gear between 'relax' and 'Director' and the sentence came out sounding a little odd to Ritsukos ear.  
"It's about your young housemate actually. How is Shinji getting along?" Misato's mind warred with itself for a moment. 'Do I mention the nightmares? At least that one is definitively pilot related. . .' Her eyes went to the note again. 'But Shinji told me that in confidence.'So Misato sighed and leaned back, looking at the phones battery display to see the '97%/~2 hours' figure she expected of a battery that had not been used. Putting the phone back to her head she replied.  
"I don't think he's getting much social contact. . ." she trailed off with a frown, and Pen-Pen glared at her for staring into his space that way. Ritsuko decided to play devil's advocate and put her guilt theory to the test.  
"Well he has been busy, between classes most of the week and training every day, combined with study time for school and his work here-" Misato angrily cut her off, confirming her theory of personal guilt.  
"Sure we can make excuses all day long, but the fact is Shinji is nearly as socially isolated here as he was before he came! I gave him the cellphone, it never rings, and by this battery he hasn't made any calls either." Immediately guessing what battery she was referring to did not brighten Ritsuko's opinion of her friend. 'You still don't regularly charge your cell phone? I had to swap batteries with you for years so you wouldn't run out!'

"Well what about those two from the Section 2 reports?" Ritsuko had worked very hard over the years to quash her tendency to care for children, working with Rei had not helped, despite knowing what she was, and the accompanying nightmares. That care filtered though in her words, and triggered the rarely used extra gear in Misato which time and experience was giving ever more traction. With almost maternal frustration Misato explained.  
"Kensuke and Toji have hung around with him, but its superficial, like ablative armor." Long experience with her friend conjured the image of Ritsuko glaring at her, so she supplied a simple example. "The moment something stresses it, it will crumble." Figuring this was the best opening she was likely to get, Ritsuko decided to get her unofficial duty done with.  
"What about Rei?" the tone was casual, more a offhanded inquiry then anything else. Its sheer falsity rang in Misato's ears like a badly played note.  
"You have access to the Section 2 reports, so far its nothing more then educational, with a little curiosity about her isolation." 'Oh, now there's a question that ought to reveal something.' hence Misato's follow up jest. "What, planning on breeding replacement pilots already?" This provoked a string of images through Ritsuko's mind that started with Rei holding Shinji's hand in the Eva Bay nearly a month ago, through Gendo giving Rei away to his own son at the alter, and the nightmare image of a little kid with bright red eyes asking to stay with 'Grandma Ritsuko'.  
"No! We will never need such a thing!" Maya jumped at her terminal in what had become their co-office, and wondered what had upset Ritsuko so much she shouted into the phone. While on the other end Misato whipped the phone away from her head like it was a live snake.  
"Wow, sorry to hit a nerve, but it's not like we can just pop another pilot out of the fridge here, and we have no idea how long this war is going to last." Misato's attempt to calm her long time friend struck far too close to home to calm her, but did focus her on getting things back on track wonderfully.  
"Well when it comes to Shinji, I think he, and Rei are a bit alike." 'And his father for that matter.'  
"Oh? How so?"  
"They are not very good at..." Ritsuko paused to look for the right word. "living I guess. A little like the hedgehogs dilemma." That little preplanned out managed to carry the discussion safely away from anything sensitive; but before she hung up, Misato got in one last unknowing jab.  
"I just wish the Marduk Institute would hurry up and find some more pilots. Unit 02 might as well be already operational and Asuka is roaring to get here, but there's no pressure to complete the rest on time. As if the Angel's immunity to anything else was a fairytale." With a yawn, Misato decided to get some sleep while she could.

* * *

Mike was having a typical day, and while he took comfort in the routine of setting up for class, his mind was troubled. It wasn't that he was not doing his job, it was that the poor kid was so. . . well meaning. The background files calm and clinical terminology failed to convey the puzzle that Shinji presented. 'By all rights he should be some kind of angry antisocial person, acting out against the authority figures that have failed him.' But the facts of his behavior over the past three weeks and his willingness to work with such single minded dedication to his little 'part time job' at NERV seemed to counter that assessment. The constant training meant that Shinji had spent these weeks in school, in training, or at home. 'Hell, if I had been treated the way he was, the moment they let me back into an Eva I would have killed Gendo.' This called for an explanation, a task for which Mike had personal observation and records from the base. What he did not have was access to what happened at home. Which was why he needed an excuse to chat with Ops Director Katsuragi again. 'Something is seriously wrong with the fact she did not know who I am.'

While Mike mused, the classroom filled in, and Rei caught his attention. There was a dynamic between the blue haired enigma and Shinji developing that Mike could not identify clearly. 'But then, I'm not native, so social cues like a change in honorific are going to slip by me without serious work to pay attention to them.' Shaking his head at the twist of fate that placed him in this line of work, he caught Hikari entering. 'Something has to be going on with her, got to be family related.' A moment's pause and a stifled laugh at her reaction to Toji and Kensuke's entrance to the classroom later Mike reconsidered. 'Or it's just boy trouble.' Checking the clock on his laptop, Mike figured he had the time to go over the dossiers on the pilot of the essentially completed Unit 02, which would surely be transferred soon. 'Not even the U.N. can survive having its head up its collective bunghole forever without coming out for a breath of air.' His last thoughts after consulting it and eating up the last of his 'free' time were simple. 'Oh grand, Sohryu is going to get along with this bunch like a lighter and napalm. Though Katsuragi does have experience dealing with her, she's going to need to take a hands on approach. For that matter, what impact is living in the same apartment is liable to have on Shinji?And Rei come to think of it.'

While Mike was ruminating, Toji was busy, and his exasperated tone showed his patience was running thin.  
"Look, I'm not asking you to rush, it's just that you've been busy 'training'-" Toji's tone turned the word into something you would scrape off your shoe. "-for nearly a month man! If Mari keeps nagging at me about seeing you I'm going to be the one in the hospital." Shinji's sagging posture sapped strength from Toji's indignation even before his reply.  
"You know that the moment they let me have a break I will go with you." {Yes, if there's anything you're good at, it's apologizing for things that aren't entirely your fault isn't it?} The bitter voice in the back of his mind had been quiet lately, drowned out by exhaustion, routine and constant instructions of school or training. 'But life never gets better really.' "I'll. . ." Shinji had walked into a corner verbally again.  
"You'll what? Get to it before I am in a straight jacket in a padded room?" Toji did not mean it as a serious statement, but Shinji's mind supplied that all on its own.  
"I will talk with Rei about it at lunch." The looks on Kensuke's and Toji's faces at that statement made no sense to Shinji until he ran back over his exact wording. 'Oh god, I called her Rei-Sensei.' Their immediate inquiries were a problem deferred for Shinji by the beginning of class, signaled by Hikari's asking them to rise. 'What am I going to do to explain that?' {They will drag it out of you as usual.} As he set down, Shinji resolved that it was unavoidable. 'Nothing to be done but tell the truth and pray Kensuke can convince Toji.'

* * *

On the roof of the school, the same basic scene as has occupied the past weeks is playing out. Shinji goes to the edge that looks out to the wooded hills and sits to eat the lunch he has packed. Behind him in the shade of the slight overhang Rei sits eating the lunch she has brought from NERV's supply storage unit 5-7.

But the routine is broken as Shinji gets up, and turns to walk to Rei, unaware she has been watching him every time rather then having noticed the movement and investigated. Inside the Nephilim's mind, gears are turning with crystal clarity. 'Ikari has broken from his routine, why?'  
Rei's continued examination of pilot Ikari had run into fundamental gaps in her knowledge which she had simply never noticed before. The examination of those who did not know their reason for being had always taken a back seat to preparations for her own purpose, but with Unit 00 inoperative, and direct intervention a resort not needed thanks to his presence, she had started filling the void.

Specifically, she was filling the chunks of time that had previously existed as pointless waiting, often on her bed, with attempting to learn of her fellow pilots reasoning. 'Why does he pilot Eva?' 'Is it for me?' and similar questions plagued her, and yet some internal force urged her not to tell Dr. Akagi or the Commander. The force was subtle, manifest as a shifting of priorities, the assumption of their knowledge or consent, justification for her own initiative as part of filling standing orders. So it was that when Shinji asked his question Rei's awareness was focused with terrific intent.  
"Ayanami, do you know the schedule for our" the blush on his cheeks at that point pulled at her attention. "Training?"  
"What does it matter?" Rei was busy interpreting Shinji's actions. 'Pilot Ikari's hand is clenching and relaxing again, commander Ikari only does this when greatly stressed, and adopted his sitting stance to prevent this.' That analysis lead back to a more personal question, one that was answered immediately. 'I do not wish to change this.' backed with 'Deviation from the schedule will have a negative impact on its effect.' or so Rei rationalized. The unblinking stare had pulled Shinji's reasoning from him.  
"It's Toji-" Rei did not realize it, but her eyes narrowed slightly at the name, even as her mind ran through solutions to his interference, most involving Section 2. "His sister Mari got hurt in the attack." Rei's interruption put Shinji highly off balance.  
"Damage caused by Angel attacks is not the responsibility of defending pilots." Shinji visibly shuddered at the liquid nitrogen of her tone.  
"She was hurt by _me_, by Eva. I have to apologize!" 'Its my fault, I have to put it right!' {Nothing you do ever turns out right.}Rei paused to think this over. 'This is factually correct, but procedurally wrong.' Naturally she fell back on training.  
"It is the job of NERV Public Relations to issue such statements to the public." Shinji's hand snapped into a fist, and with his face screwed up and eyes closed he all but shouted.  
"It's my duty, Ayanami!" Silence hung over the roof like smog at that statement, only cleared by Rei's revelation. 'Ikari believes it is his duty. . . as a pilot? Why does he believe that? Regardless, he will be unable to concentrate fully on me until this issue is resolved.' Thus a course of action determined, she set out to accomplish it.  
Rei immediately stood, with a abruptness that dislodged Shinji, and whipped out her cell phone, hitting a preset number.

In Misato's apartment, the Operations Director was enjoying her little nap when her phone rang. 'Oh not again!' grabbing it and pulling it under the cover she read the name off the back-light. Instantly she snapped awake at the sight of '2ed Lt. Ayanami' on the ID. Mind filling with everything from a traffic accident to Angel sighting, she hit the accept button while scrambling to find her clothes.

Back on the roof, the phone rang once, and hearing the pickup tone Rei immediately made her request. "Pilot Ikari requires a deferral of training to tomorrow in order to handle a public relations matter. As he has already contacted me, we require only the approval of the operations director, do you so consent?" The question managed to unbalance Misato.  
"Well yes, Shinji can have a day off-" Being hung up on by Rei was so outside of her experience that Misato decided. 'That can't have been real.' Rei looked to the frozen Shinji.  
"Pilot Ikari, your training has been rescheduled."  
"Who was that?"  
"Operations Director Katsuragi." The confusion prompted explanation again. 'I am explaining myself often.' a fact filed away for later. "You could have done it, but you would have needed to check with myself as your instructor, this eliminates a step in the process."  
"I. . . Thank you Rei!" even as Shinji ran to tell his friends, pelting down the stairs with a youthful disregard for safety, Rei was pensive. 'That is the first time he has used my personal name since learning my family name. Outside of training.' A scent distracted Rei from her thoughts then, wafting across the roof and reminding her this was a rare chance to study Shinji's behavior.

Specifically, it was the scent of Shinji's lunch. Walking over to examine it, Rei bent down to study the little box, its rice and fish only half eaten. 'Fish.' Rei's frown was immediate. 'Why meat? Issued rations include tofu with the entire nutritional compliment required.' They had always been adequate for Rei, and accessible on the route from her apartment to the school, with the surface force supply cache 5-7 so convenient. Seeing Shinji's home made lunches, and due to her position and prevailing weather patterns smelling it, had piqued her curiosity. 'It is not the same today either, though at least one part of it is similar.' Mike's little check up on the two of them he preformed every day from the blind was met with the sight of Rei holding Shinji's bento and smelling it deeply, eyes closed.

* * *

Naturally, since Toji and Kensuke were running their little. . . business venture that lunch, Shinji could not manage to find them before it was time for the latter half of the days classes. The last bit of their conversation that he caught as they entered the classroom was especially puzzling to Shinji.  
"I'm telling you, we have to sell while the market is good, by a couple of weeks from now the allure of 'the quiet transfer student with a mysterious past' will wear off." Kensuke's impassioned statement was met with Toji's cryptic reply.  
"As long as you have set aside his share, I'm willing to put in a little more of my lunch time for the big payoff."  
"Hey, there are some things that I want to at least see before I die too ya know." Kensuke's reply got a frown from Toji. Shinji had no time to ponder the meaning as classes immediately resumed under the watchful eye of Hikari. 'Besides, these word problems are always so weird. What kind of teacher asks you how many cubic millimeters of metal you need to fill in the gaps of 13 12mm barrels to accept 9mm rounds for a given barrel length?'

After class, the three of them met up.  
"So I'm guessing Rei said yes?" it took a moment for Shinji to parse the meaning before he could respond to Toji as the three of them walked to the entrance to the school grounds.  
"Yes, tomorrow Ayanami and I have the day off of training." was his reply.  
"Oh, so now its Ayanami-San again?" Kensuke's jeer was immediately followed up by Toji reflexively.  
"What, no respect for your Senpai?" The smiles on their faces immediately lost their shine when they saw Shinji freeze up, but the slight blush told them they were on the right track even as he spoke.  
"About that. . ." Shinji stumbled over the words 'Its purely professional. No, that makes it sound worse! Rei has come before me, she pilots Unit 00. No, I can't use that it might give something away!' What finally came out was "Since I came to Tokyo-3 I have begun working closely with Rei-"  
As if speaking her name had summoned her, Rei was in front of them eyes glowing crimson for an instant.  
"There is an emergency call." she spoke with a voice colder then death, freezing them all in place for a moment. Toji thawed first, heated by his anger as the sirens begain to wail.  
"This is ridiculous!" but he turned to Shinji, "Go on, its not your fault when those idiots at NERV decide to do a drill." Kensuke and Rei spoke at the same time, Kensuke's  
"There's no drill today." matched by Rei's statement.  
"This is not a drill Pilot Ikari." a glance askance at Rei was followed up by Kensuke.  
"Its fine, you have bigger things to worry about right?" Shinji's immediate reaction of weak denial  
"But-" went unfinished as Rei snatched up his hand and turned to the Section 2 van that was turning the corner. Shinji's last sight of his friends before being pulled into the van was of Toji and Kensuke being virtually dragged by the ear towards the shelter route, Hikari riding herd.

In a valley outside Tokyo-3 Samshel floated at a deceptively sedate looking pace, Tendrils flapping lazily, seeming to ignore the recon fighter following it.

* * *

While Hikari organized the students in the shelter as usual, given that their teacher was always absent during alerts, Kensuke was looking at the inevitable censorship 'emergency' message. "At least this time they aren't trying to tell us this is all a drill." The remark was fairly bitter for NERV's number one fan. The scowl from Toji was unexpected. 'Mari getting hurt so bad really hurt him.' Toji had been friends with Kensuke since grade school, much to the terror of the toughs at said school, whose planned shakedown of 'the nerd with the glasses' had run into an abrupt wall. That wall running into their faces several times and then sticking around with the kid had permanently put them off the plan. The nickname for them which had left with the majority of the students in Tokyo-3, 'Faces of the Coin' held true. They both knew that this would likely be their last few years together before the inevitable fact their paths lead different directions would split them up. Still the sudden rift between Toji and himself following Mari being hurt in the first attack, and the events that followed stung. Looking over to where Toji was sprawled against the wall, Kensuke reached a decision point. 'I've got to see an Eva in combat at least once before I die! I just gotta! I guess this is something I have to do myself buddy.' Pocketing his camera, he spoke up.  
"Hey Toji, watch my stuff for a bit I gotta hit the head." Toji's eye roll at his use of naval slang was just as planned. Toji did not watch as he went and informed Hikari, took his inevitable chewing out, and headed off. Then Toji noticed that the support cords to the official feed, and more importantly to power for the nearly empty battery had been left behind. 'Oh come on Kensuke, you whine about not being allowed to recharge the battery's because an Angel is attacking, and then you take it with you to the bathroom?' shaking his head Toji stopped for a second. His mind played back over the years since that camera had been the pushing factor into his helping a kid he hardly knew. 'You don't take peoples birthday presents. That's just wrong.' The sillyness of taking the camera picked at his mind. 'What does he even want it in there for? Its not like the Angel-' Kensuke's voice rang in Toji's head again. 'Hey, there are some things that I want to at least see before I die too ya know.' Then he checked, and sure enough Kensuke had taken a fresh tape. 'That can only mean one thing.' As Toji got up, heading to Hikari, his anger flared up, parting the sea of students sitting in the way. 'God damn it Ken! I can't just let you do this! And now I have to do the most unlikely thing imaginable.' The images of Mari played in his mind even as he approached Hikari, who turned around with automatic irritation.  
"Can't at least one of you-" the frost in her words died at Toji's expression. 'He's trying to not let me see he's upset.'  
"Horaki, can we talk for a second where it's quiet?" The shelter's background noise was quite low for the amount of students in it, and the rigid control in Toji's voice and posture screamed 'Problem.'

Ushering him toward the bathrooms with a wave of her arm, Hikari's worry never had time to be voiced.  
"I'm going to check if he's in there." Toji motioned to the door to the men's bathroom. "If he is then I'm sorry." Hikari spent a moment in suspension. 'They learned not to mess with me years ago, but if this is a trick. . .' Her desperate attempt to cling to normality was torn from her when Toji stalked out, smashing his fist on the wall. "Horaki-gozen, Kensuke went outside to film the battle." The title left Hikari reeling. Thoughts overridden by 'Toji thinks I'm noble!' it took her a moment to get to the rest of the sentence, by which time Toji was already going on. "There is no way I can get out of here to drag him back without you knowing. I can't let what happened to Mari happen to Kensuke. So I'm begging you, please, let me grab the idiot before he gets hurt, and don't report him. He took his camera with him so he has to be out there." Toji's tone of anger had drained into a plea for mercy by the end. Still Hikari's thoughts were confused, rather then the directed thinking she needed, she kept getting side tracked by what he said. The squabbling was broken by the realization 'He took a camera. I had to sign paperwork just to call father at work. If section 2 finds him up there with a camera they will shoot him.'  
Color drained from her face for a moment, but she recovered quickly, grabbing his hand to drag him to the exit.  
"Come on, the surface exit is this way!"

* * *

The hiss of a solid seal, followed by the noise of the entry plug filling with LCL was as familiar to Shinji as the rest of the start up sequence he was even now enacting. Misato's voice rang clear and confident around him.  
"Alright Shinji, this is your chance to show what you can do with some training under your belt. We have a Battle Rifle on its way up on your right once you reach the surface" that pause again. "So try and show that your close work with Rei is paying off."  
Before he could reply however, the final connections were made, and the fresh sensation of restraint triggered his recollection of the nightmare he had tried so hard to avoid.

Restraints everywhere other then his head, some kind of helmet so he couldn't see. But he somehow knew it was something like an iron maiden only open so they could reach him. A slight twitch gives the feeling of a pair of steel bars pinning his shoulders, the walls of the construct pinning his legs in place, immense manacles holding even his hands immobile, lest he kill one of them with his finger. Then the sense of a drill, the noise like a dentists drill but fit to carve buildings, and the horrible certainty of what they were going to do to him. They were going to bore out his spine from behind, right where his shoulders meet. The humming increased in volume, inches from his flesh. . . Then a voice, a voice Shinji knew, familiar, but impossible to place. 'Wake up, Shin-chin.'

Shinji had immediately woken up, covered in sweat, and worst of all, not tangled up in his bedding. Misato had been in the kitchen when he went for some water by reflex. Misato had immediately asked about it of course. He did not know why for sure, but he set down and told her about it. His faltering explanation must have taken an hour, but she just set there, sipping water as he trembled in the seat across from her and tried to explain. It had shaken him so much that his synch ratio had dropped, forcing Shinji to ask for training to continue as normal. Even now, with so much on the line, it had frozen him up, and as his mind tore itself away from the horror, the look of concern on Misato's face, both on the little com window, and in front of him in the control box worried him. What surprised him however, was the little nod from Rei, who was staring directly at him from further back in the box. So it was with effort that Shinji intoned.  
"It's alright, Unit 01 start up completed."

* * *

The Supine form of Samshel floated to a halt half way into the city. After the initial shots from defense guns had elicited no response at all, they had stopped firing. Unit 01's deployment point opened, the rails locking into place, and Samshel reared up like a serpent, the twin whip like tendrils continuing to sway as flags in a breeze. With several of the faux buildings between him and his enemy, Shinji had time to disconnect, lock the power cord into place, and retrieve the Battle Rifle from its armament point without interference. The thoughts running through Shinji's head were those of any rookie on his first engagement. 'FCS Online and calibrated, move up back to the wall angle so the cord won't get snapped, stay crouched on the balls of your feet.' To his credit, Unit 01's advance was as stealthy as a 40 meter tall person could be, coming to the intersection of the street Samshel was floating over, only 15 decimeters from the weird red thing. Back to the wall of the building, he settled into place.  
"Misato, what's it doing?" Her first thought was 'Shinji sounds, calm, cold. . . like Rei.' Concern pushed aside by duty, she replied"It doesn't seem to know where you are, it has to know you're around, rearing up like that-" With a nod to Hyuuga, a feed from one of the many, many cameras that Misato knew all too well from speeding citations popped up in his view. "is clearly some kind of battle response. You can bet once you spread your AT Field it's going to notice." A moments flickering thoughts locked the plan into place, and with more confidence Misato sent out her orders. "Right, notice where its core is, pop out from cover, spread your AT Field and shoot him right in the core, just as you practiced" Shinji's nod was followed by the complex mental gymnastics involved in telling the FCS to lock onto the image feed's targeting data. Setting the mental cursor over the center of the core, framed conveniently by the ribcage around it, and clicking the fire selector to single shot.

Shinji took one last deep breath, let it out as Rei had taught him, and whipped out from cover, totally locked into his actions. Unit 01's eyes flare for an instant, hexagons flare before him for an instant, the mental pressure just as Rei described to him as their AT Fields clash. Then the trigger in the handle snaps, once, twice, three times. Shells larger then cars scream down the street, each packing more explosive power then a battleships cannons. The detonations shatter windows three blocks away, the overpressure wave bending the structural steel of the nearest two skyscrapers. The smoke of detonated gunpowder fills the street for an instant. . . Then a audible hum, immediately recalls his nightmare and causes Shinji to shift backwards instinctively.

The reaction is all that prevents the pink glowing ribbon from taking Unit 01's head off as it slices through the buildings as a blade through air. Instead it whips through in front of Shinji, as if in slow motion. To his terror, he can pick out every detail, segment after segment of chitin, surrounded by the plasma its friction is causing, leaving a trail in the air, inches in front of his face, close enough that he can feel the heating of his helmet. The second arcs in from the left, taking the barrel of the battle rifle off, superheated metals parting like the smoke being whipped away by the supersonic objects passing through it. It is with utter terror as he starts to scramble backwards, holding the truncated battle rifle in front of him as a shield Shinji screams.  
"It didn't work Misato!"  
Before the stunned crew can even react, the arcs of glowing death pass through the rifle as Unit 01 stumbles back out of reach, dropping the parts of the rifle into the smoke of the collapsing buildings, internal fires from the heat on the interior of the buildings immediately snuffed by the airstream.

As the 40 meters of war machine scrambles backwards on its elbows, orders flash out.  
"Fall back! Defense Plate 17-B!" Misato was trying desperately not to let her panic show. 'Time, I need time to think damn it!'  
The slowly advancing form of Samshel was abruptly cut off as a plate of tempered metal and composites as thick as a crosswalk locked into place. Rolling up to his feet, Shinji was abruptly reminded he was in Unit 01 as his leg contacted the power cord. Ahead of him, the indicator of a empty building, a routing order flickering in the corner of his eye. In his headlong rush he had crushed a buildings entry, and his mind flickered, an image of a little girl burning from another of his nightmares. 'No!' A thought redirected the rifle to the far armory building, the rifle carriage locking into place as he ran. A series of clangs from behind nearly made him turn around, but the prospect of a weapon and a clear area kept him from it. Samshel's blades had neatly quartered the plate, clearing its path. Increasing its speed Samshel tilted forward to race after the fleeing Eva. As Unit 01 pounded past the armory building and out of the immediate city center Misato quailed.  
"What?-"  
"The Rifle replacement is on this side." Shinji panted. Glancing over at the city display, the rifle was at the far armory building, not the central one she had ordered. 'No time to get on Shigeru's case now.'  
As he pelted towards the rifle, clearing the high rises of the city, Shinji felt a sense of relief not born of the distance between him and the Angel. 'No one gets hurt here-' Someone clamping a white hot handcuff around his ankle interrupted his thoughts, and being pulled from his feet to hurdle across the city away from salvation nearly knocked him out. The impact on the hill managed to black Shinji out for an instant, so his first sight on waking was three little- 'People.' Sight snapping into focus on the three revealed who they were before the Magi link database.  
Inside the control room, focus shifted from where Samshel was taking its time crossing the city to the three ID's that showed up. Misato said it first.  
"Shinji's classmates?" 'I have to decide, do they matter enough to risk it?' But the answer was clear to her. 'What use is any of this if we can't protect anyone?'  
"Open up with defense bases 7-12! Raise Defense Plates in blocks 3, 7, and 9!" Shinji lay stunned in the entry plug. His mind played a single thought. 'What are Toji, Kensuke, and Hikari doing here?' Misato's voice smashed the stability. "Shinji, set the Eva to hold orders and get them into the plug!"  
On the mountain, the rumble of defense weapons firing from the other hills drowned out Kensuke's expression of surprise as the Eva rocked forward, and then a seemingly pencil thin cylinder opened up. The loudspeaker carried the authority of Misato's voice as it rang out. "Get in!" Their first thoughts on climbing the little ladder into the entry plug were recorded for posterity. Toji's blunt, "Water?" Kensuke's worried exclamation,"My camera!" and Hikari's shocked reaction to the overwhelming smell, "Blood?" All of which dissolved into panic as the sealed plug filled with LCL again.  
Ritsuko's hasty "Its breathable, grab on to the back of the chair." was obeyed in seconds, as the interior of the plug cascaded with light. Toji's ill sounding "I think I'm gonna be sick." was not matched by Hikari, who was busy trying not to think about that. Kensuke's mind had quickly retreated into worry about the footage he had shot rather then deal with reality. All of them were interrupted when the plug walls became a display, and immediately filled with static. The image of the massive Angel slicing through the last defense plate and shrugging off the remainder of the defense base fire, even disrupted by static elicited panic in the plug. Ristuko's voice was audible to all of them over the com link. "Damn it! His synch ratio crashed with the addition of foreign body's in the entry plug, to much thought noise!"

* * *

In the command bunker, at Maya's hastily added station, the deceleration by Ritsuko elicited confusion. "That makes no sense. The Eva should not even faintly pick up their thoughts at all, much less enough to cause synch ratio drop like this." bigger concerns tore her attention away from the console at the sound of Shinji's panicked reply to Misato's order to retreat.  
"Misato, it's between me and you!"

The tactical map showed the problem, and Misato's mind went over the data looking for an out. 'The only facility's on that hill are a pop up cannon and a pair of missile banks, and the nearest entrance to the geo front is behind Samshel. Shelters don't have AT Fields, if I fire on the hill-' there it was, the out, and what had gone wrong. 'Shinji didn't wait for its AT Field to collapse before firing, his shots smashed into the field, not the Angel. If it were immune to the shells, it would not have bothered defending with its AT Field.' But how to implement the plan? 'neutralization range is limited, 20 decimeters was the record. And it can dodge in three dimensions as well.' Getting close would require running a gauntlet of tendrils, and it threw Unit 01 like a rag-doll 'Still, with only 1:15 power left, its the only way.' A mental nod, and time snapped back into flowing.  
"Shinji, when you can't run away, you've got to get to grips with your problems head on. Get in close, pin it down, neutralize its AT Field, we'll do the rest." Without waiting to see his reaction, Misato hit the all secondary forces button on the radio console.  
"This is the Operational Director, on the tone signal, maximum effort fire mission targeted on Unit 01, Repeating, Maximum effort targeting Unit 01's position" Misato's voice came across to the UN pilots, and crews cold enough to see their breath. But her thinking was clear. 'Even without its AT Field, the Eva has 20,000 plates of fortified armor, short of a N2 mine, nothing should hurt it. Please let that estimate be right.' Time for planning ran out abruptly as Samshel reared into attack position, and the entry plug flooded with red light as the timer ticked to 1:00.  
With a incoherent scream from Shinji as its vanguard, Unit 01 came plunging down the mountain, directly at Samshel. Tendrils spread to tear it apart as it tried to pass by, whipping out vertically. This left the direct route virtually defenseless for a crucial moment, and the Eva, pilot and passengers alike, was safely through its 15 decimeter engagement range and nearly in contact with Samshel when it reacted. Flailing without the geometric precision that had marked its previous attacks, the two strips of plasma coated chitin came in. The right fell like a guillotine, passing through Unit 01's shoulder effortlessly, but immediately mired in the earth and stone below. While blood coated the hillside and propelled the missing arm away outside, inside the entry plug, Shinji's left arm slackened instantly. On-board sensors cranked up to maximum power in preprogrammed response.  
The left whip recoiled, and in defiance of momentum, lanced into Unit 01's torso. But rather then slipping in and out as planned, abruptly met resistance. Inside, the screaming of the pilot rose in volume, as someone shoved a heated iron into Shinji's guts. But momentum is a cruel mistress, so Unit 01, and the screaming pilot and passengers slammed into Samshel. Scrabbling for a handhold, its remaining arm wrapped around the head and body connection joint, destabilizing the floating angel until it was belly up, core gazing at a sky clogged with VTOLs, and the now revealed turrets on top of the mountain Misato's finger pressed the signal tone key. One turret, two missile battery's, 33 JSSDF Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, 17 NERV VTOLs and a lone surviving tank of the UN's forces opened fire on the current position of Unit 01, and Samshel. It took 3 whole seconds of struggle between the mired angel and maimed Eva for the Time on Target coordinated fire to arrive.  
Inside the entry plug, Shinji was abruptly hurled from the seat, held in place for an instant by his remaining working arm before gravity had a chance to slam him face first into the front end of the command seat. His passengers would likely have enjoyed their view up Hikari's skirt, save for the fact they were nearly inverted before being crushed forward into the back of the command seat.  
Outside, the flesh of Samshel vaporized, chunks blasted out from the conflagration, the head segment it had tried to interpose to preserve its core was gone entirely The long torso had chunks torn from it, craters of bleeding flesh left behind. The chitin whips crashing to the ground was inaudible after the detonations, but the core cracked and attached to the remainder of its body by torn strips of flesh remained. Unit 01 lay on its left side momentarily stunned along with its pilot, but Samshel would require only a handful of minutes to repair even this horrific damage.  
"Shinji! Knife it!" Misato's command hammered through the pain and enclosing darkness of Shinji's perceptions. Opening his eyes again, the glowing sphere lay in front of him, the prog knife slid out, and he stabbed in, his wrenched arm protesting the abuse of the motion. Samshel's detonation put the blast that had crippled it to shame, the retreating VTOLs rocked forward. The last sight of the outside world before the power ran out was of blinding pink light.

In the darkness of the entry plugs emergency lighting, Shinji heaved himself back into the seat. His unwilling passengers picked themselves up, balancing precariously on the curved sidewall of the plug.  
Shinji's weakened voice broke the sudden silence. "Toji?"  
"Ya?"  
"I'm. . . I am sorry" He had to pause for breath, inhaling reflexively. "about not being able to see Mari today." Though Shinji could not see it, having closed his eyes in exhaustion, Toji's mortified expression was matched by the simple incomprehension of Kensuke. Hikari's mind was still trying to process the events, but her natural response kicked in.  
"Stop apologizing Shinji." The anger in her tone pulled his eyes open to see her regarding him with fierce disappointment. Her expression melted into empathy. "You did your best, that's all we can do."

* * *

While the recovery and cleanup operations began, Maya took the chance to pull her mentor aside. "Sempai, you need to see this." Ritsuko was for the moment not actually busy, with the detonation, there would be little to recover anyhow, and the secondary team had already been dispatched. Ambling over to look at the display, she failed to notice Misato sigh and follow her.  
"Look at this synch pattern data." The graph that came up had an interruption at its midpoint. "Because of the new equipment being in addition to the old, I got a good look at the synch ratio at the point where EUD occurred." The display's purple line representing Shinji's synch ratio had a immediate drop at the point the passengers arrived, but spiked back up to nearly as high later. "EUD occurred here, at the spike point, but more importantly, look at this." Maya hit another few keys, and the right side of the graph enlarged, suddenly having three more lines, yellow, orange, and red. "Right where Shinji's ratio drops, the internal monitors in his suit don't see this, but the newer external ones noticed these appearing." Ritsuko nearly panicked. 'No! They can't be allowed to know the reality yet.' so she covered.  
"Three foreign bodies, three discrepancys, at least we know the sensors work, even if they target the wrong thing." Ritsuko mentally patted herself on the back for her quick thinking, then Mayas words drained the accomplishment from her.  
"But to register on synch ratio monitors at all, you have to be a pilot candidate." Maya's honestly confused tone gave Ritsuko hope. 'I might salvage this yet, but how?' Misato's chiming in seemed a sign from the powers that be.  
"So one of them could be a pilot?" Ritsuko had her out now, and executed it.  
"Or they have angel contamination, you show up on the monitors yourself Misato." The mention brought up bitter memories in her friend, and Ritsuko knew it. 'But its for your own good.' Maya's expression of surprise, and glance at Misato was met with a bitter scowl and the words.  
"If you must know, ask later. Now, how can we tell if it's the real thing?" Maya returned to the matter of the moment, but determined to ask later.  
"You mentioned the presence of foreign bodies in the entry plug as the source of the thought noise." Ritsuko's nod and 'go on' gesture prompted her to hesitantly continue. "But to pick up on their thoughts at all means that they are synching, no matter how little. Non pilots don't synch at all." Before her mentor could speak, Misato changed fate forever.  
"Then set up a full candidate test, I'm heading out to nab them anyhow." she strode off, then paused long enough to deliver one last remark. "We need pilots, even if it means putting more innocent children through this."

* * *

They were split up immediately on the plug being opened, Shinji being carted away by medical personnel, while section 2 agents corralled Toji, Kensuke, and Hikari towards a APC. Even the chance to ride in a armored vehicle did little to lighten Kensuke's mood. Toji kept staring at his right hand, wondering what might have happened if Rei had not stopped him before. Hikari tried not to take her apprehension out on Kensuke for getting them into this mess, but her thoughts soon turned to what had happened. 'Father knew that was what. . .' the thought refused to finish, and the ill feeling at the stench of the entry plug, the overwhelming smell of blood returned for a moment. All three were broken from their respective revery on getting to NERV, and being met by Ritsuko and armed guards. Recognizing her from the file photo, Kensuke's mind started to wander in dark places, making her statement to them into something sinister.  
"You all need to be evaluated, some basic tests to ensure your Ok after this, but before that you have to be decontaminated."  
To say the process was humiliating is an understatement, but Hikari was profoundly grateful that they at least let her change in a separate room, even if they had to go through the process together. But the first part seemed... off. 'What possible test could that little chamber preform?' what it was pumped with did not help. 'Whats the point of having us switch to these, then dumping us in that horrible stuff again?'  
Toji's thoughts where much the same, save the additional distraction of seeing Hikari actually had grown into a fairly nice figure. Kensuke was paranoid of the entire thing, immediately knowing that the 'special step required after being in an Eva' was false. 'But what can I do? I'm in the belly of the beast now.' were the thoughts running through his head as the three of them were at last lead to a meeting room. Taking their seats at the central table, cued by their armed guards motion to the side, they awaited their judgment with a mirror letting them stare at themselves.

A single room away, through the one way glass, Maya and Ritsuko stared at the screen of the test results. 'At least I got warning to Gendo.' Ritsuko's thoughts had turned morbid as the inevitable results came in, because she knew exactly what the tests would show. 'This is going to mean several 'special briefings' with Gendo.' Maya's ecstatic mood would normally infect her partner as well, but now it was just annoying.  
"This is incredible, first we get good data on EUD finally, and then we find three A level pilot candidates." Maya's chipper statement sparked Ritsuko's thoughts. 'Oh ya, unbelievable coincidence isn't it. Still, she's cute as a kitten.' The pause in Maya's stream of verbiage got Ritsukos attention. "Heaven sure seems to be sending mixed messages lately."

* * *

"Don't you think if we could, we would use trained soldiers?" Misato's shout left Hikari stumbling back into her seat. 'And I thought out of all of them Hikari would be the least of my problems.' Toji finally spoke, breaking the reserve he had held since Misato had come in and started taking strips out of their hides.  
"Ya, why is that?" The answer to his question came from Ritsuko, who's carefully maintained presence in the background of the affair had kept Kensuke's attention flickering between her and the Captain shouting at them.  
"That information is classified, it would require an order from the commander himself to tell you." Her smug tone and expression died abruptly.  
"Someone must be looking out for you." Gendo's sudden appearance tended to do that, and his words coming from behind them froze the three children in place.  
"Dr. Akagi, retrieve the first and third, their presence is required." as he spoke, the supreme commander of NERV strode to the head of the table, settling into place, smirking behind his gloves. While Ritsuko made good her escape, he finished his grand entrance  
"Answer the question, Operations Director Katsuragi." Trying not to let him see her sweat, Misato proceeded.  
"As I understand it, no one born before second impact is compatible with an Evangelion." Misato's glance at the commander for approval showed only the light glaring off his glasses. "So our pool of potential pilots is limited, the ones we have are literally the oldest available" Kensuke was so caught up in this information that he momentarily forgot the presence of Gendo, asking.  
"Then why Shinji?" Misato was quite annoyed at being interrupted constantly. Naturally, before she could answer, and the arrival of Rei, Shinji and Ritsuko was simultaneous to Gendo doing so.  
"There was no one else who can." Shinji immediately recoiled, his slung left arm swaying, but had no where to go but forward, taking the seat furthest from his father on the side. Ritsuko's sitting at the other end of the table from Gendo was an evident signal for him to speak.  
"The three of you will now know what only two other children have known. Like them, you will die with the secret if need be." The seriousness of the statement precluded comment. "Dr. Akagi, the results were positive" A statement rather then a question, eliciting her nod. "Then I want them brought up to speed immediately." His focus shifted to the three children. "You will have 48 hours to consider. If you decline you will be required to keep silent indefinitely." Standing, the commander walked to the door. "I leave the rest in your hands Operations Director." The unspoken 'don't disappoint me' rang loud as the door closed behind him. The silent tension in the room stretched for an apparent eternity, finally pushing Toji to break it.  
"Why is everyone acting like this was a pregnancy test?" The nervous laughter from Misato and Ritsuko melted the glacial tension. Finally Ritsuko got to business.  
"You all know that Shinji pilots." A nod from all three came in synch. "I suspect that the fact Rei is a pilot does not surprise you." Hikari looked askance at Rei, but all nodded. "The first part of the decontamination was a test." before Kensuke could shout 'I knew it!' the implications and Ritsuko caught up with him. "You are all Tier A candidates for Evangelion pilots."  
Toji was as floored as anyone. 'Pilot? One of those things?' the image of Mari flashed before him.  
Kensuke's eyes widened with enthusiasm, as Misato expected, then he glanced over at Shinji and the light in Kensuke's eyes flickered. Hikari seemed lost in thought, eyes distant.

* * *

In the commanders office of NERV, Kozo's voice echoed as he shouted.  
"What in gods name are you doing Gendo?" Without even shifting forward to his desk, Gendo remained leaned back in his chair and replied with uncharacteristic lightness. "God? I don't want anything with him." The uncovered smile on his student's face frankly terrified Fuyutsuki. 'The same smile as when he showed me Rei II and-' his mind automatically cut off the thought of the materials in stasis a single well hidden corridor away.  
"Answer your Sensei." The iron behind that got Gendo's attention. 'It's not his fault, he just does not know how to roll with the bad draws, just like the old men.'

"Three A level pilot candidates fell into our laps today, don't you think people would ask questions if we didn't at least get them cleared?" Having set the inside straight he had drawn into on the table, Gendo listened to the sputtering with pride.

"What... you..." Fuyutsuki's mind began running over the implications.

"The data could be doctored, the rumors suppressed, the people sworn to secrecyn but why bother?" Gendo got little joy out of life anymore, but this was one of them.

"SEELE wont be able to send us a plant as a pilot candidate for a while, not with every Eva up to 05 filled already..." Kozo had to give his student credit. 'Its good to see your political jujitsu is still mastery level.'

"Precisely." Gendo had always preferred poker to chess and even Go. 'People are tools as well after all.'

* * *

Naturally, Shinji flinched when they turned on the high power lights in the exam room. What was unexpected was to suddenly see little rainbows coating the walls. It made for a striking impression on Ritsuko's white lab coat, and a less impressive effect on Maya's brown uniform. "See Sempai, it deflects Ultraviolet through Infrared." Shinji did the sensible thing, and was fighting back panic. 'What did they do to me this time?' {You know very well what you've done. Monster.} Ritsuko's calm did little to reassure him. "Right, you might as well put your school clothes back on, were going to be giving a little informative presentation." As Maya helped Shinji settle the sling again, and his hand twitched visibly, the young woman mentioned. "We don't have all the results in yet, but by tomorrow we can tell you all about this one!" The cheerful tone left Shinji wondering. 'Does she even consider how this makes me feel?'

So with all of them back in their school clothes, Shinji, Rei, Toji, Kensuke, and Hikari set down in one of the briefing theaters, Misato arriving to see Shinji sitting next to Rei. "Aww, to bad you didn't keep your sling Rei, then we would have a matching set." Misato's snark hit home, leaving Shinji glowing red, and Rei processing it. The sidebar was abruptly cut off as Ritsuko settled in with a cup of coffee, and Maya moved to the front. Maya visibly steadied herself, took a breath, and began with the Third Angel. For Shinji, hearing it presented as if someone else had done it seemed natural, he had no idea what happened while he was blacked out. He had seen the footage before, but still it felt distant. Kensuke remained oddly muted, which Misato picked up on. 'He's getting to see his beloved giant mecha in action, and he's not ecstatic. The way he keeps trying to smile or gets ready to cheer, and then something stops him. And every time he looks over at Shinji.' This being Misato's best chance to evaluate the potential backup pilots, she took the time to do so. But she paused when Maya got to the part about what happened to Shinji.  
" The Angels can operate on their own because they are so adaptable, a trait the Evangelions share." The red flags this raised about what an Evangelion actually was where practically neon signs atop Kensuke and Toji's heads. "However, since the pilot synchronizes with the Evangelion on a cellular level, this trait bleeds through to the pilot." The three potential pilots all stared at Shinji, though Hikari tried to hide it. "When it's life is threatened, the Evangelion attempts to adapt to the threat, changing its structure at the genetic level. Deriving a trait based on the enemy that it is facing, it then forcibly adopts this trait." The picture of Unit 01's eye, compared to Shinji's eye, threw this back into his face again. Kensuke, likewise ignorant, quipped. "So what, the Eva's are Rockman?" Maya, oblivious to the suffering she was causing and not listening to the quip, forged on. "Because the pilot is so deeply connected, their own genetic structure is effected as well, but due to the slower cell division rate, the new trait takes time to manifest. Accordingly, this phenomenon has been named Evolution Under Duress." Having completed her presentation without slipping up, Maya heaved an internal sigh of relief and stepped down. Misato decided that now was the time to get them out of NERV and headed home.  
"Alright, since you now know the size of things, take your time deciding. Talk with your families, but ultimately, this is your decision to make." While Shinji and Rei sat impassive, Toji and Hikari headed for the door, and Misato made her evaluations final. 'Toji has his reasons. Just like I have mine. If he wants a shot.' Looking over to Hikari, the young girl was following the Toji with a look of being in the balance. 'What has her father told her? Jiro is head of maintenance, he sees how ugly this gets. And what reason does she have to pilot?' Kensuke had trotted over to Maya while Misato was thinking. Kensuke's mind was at war with itself, and he had to know. "Lt. Ibuki?" Turning from recompiling her notes into a folder to the bespectacled child Maya smiled.  
"You had a question?" It Kensuke a long moment to spit it out, but Maya just waited.  
"Shinji's arm. . ."  
"Oh, by tomorrow he should be fine. But its possible for the shock to permanently burn out the nerves." Kensuke immediately blanched, and Maya reassured him "It would take a very high synch ratio and something terrible for anything like that to have a chance of happening." While he bowed and left. Maya couldn't help wondering why the kid had asked her rather then Shinji. 'Probably just awkward, I wouldn't want to ask Director Katsuragi about her contamination directly. But come to think of it, I really want to know now!'

* * *

On the streets leading from their exit to the Geo Front the one closest to their school, Toji was proving rumors wrong. He was both reading the NERV secrecy packet and walking. Hikari walking alongside him was unremarkable the first block or so, but by the third he started to wonder. Sure she seemed absorbed in the paperwork they would both have to fill out, but he could not just let her walk the wrong way like this.  
"Hikari, I haven't seen you walk this route before." His relaxed stance meant he did not see Hikari's immediate flush.  
"We probably just keep different hours." 'After all, to follow you I need to get up earlier' Seemingly satisfied with her answer, Toji returned to his earlier concern. "I can't believe how much paperwork we have to sign just because of this." But the complaint had little conviction behind it. Hikari reflexively reacted to his slight shirking of responsibility as was her want.  
"It's not all bad, we get clearance to know the truth." She paused, considered, and went ahead. "And if it comes to it, you might have the chance to protect Mari directly." 'And me. . .' The image of Toji in a gleaming white Eva, sword and shield brandished, standing off an Angel before her house immediately sprang to her mind. Naturally she tried to hide the bright red of her face behind the packet.

The Section 2 guards assigned to them temporarily just looked at each other, and chuckled.

* * *

At NERV HQ, inside an office used as little as possible, Operational Director Captain Katsuragi and Senior Detachment Leader (4th detachment) Harmon where engaged in proving it takes more then a Angel attack to reschedule NERV. Impressions on both sides were patchwork. Entering Misato's office had ruined the image he had built in his mind of her. 'Paperwork, unfilled paperwork, and the trash bin is empty. No coffee stains anywhere. So she clearly does not do meetings, ever.' Misato similarly was busy reevaluating her guest. 'The teacher is 'Ghost' Harmon, head of 4th detachment of Section 2? This is the man in charge of School, Pilot, and Pilot Candidate security?' But she had talked with him before, and experience spoke back. 'But he genuinely cares about Rei's living situation, and clearly he has talents you didn't see.' The low wall of paperwork between her chair and the guest chair was swiftly parted with the splat of Misato dropping a stack onto the floor. Mike spoke first, and Misato let him get his word in patiently.  
"Look, I know we did not properly introduce ourselves, so I am going to state this flat out. Why didn't you know me? The paperwork of the briefing should have been sent to you on your third day here." Not expecting this, Misato was caught off guard, and while she wanted to be defensive about his not coming clean she swallowed her pride on it.  
"I... I never got that deep into the paperwork." 'Besides, who reads that kind of memo anyhow?' Mike took this in stride, smoothly replying. "I always believed that paperwork multiplied when you don't look at it." Sighing and leaning back to try and get some comfort out of the cheap folding chair, Harmon moved on. "Here's the deal, I trust you." Misato immediately discounted that. 'Ya, and Kaji doesn't sleep around.' "I trust you because you genuinely care about your pilots, and around here that's as rare as that little Lime peeling trick a buddy of mine showed me." The off-handed comment got a massive, if suppressed, reaction from Misato. 'Ok, that tears it, she's definitely met my old buddy. As for being his old flame, bigger things right now.' so Mike set it aside. "We have the same security clearance, and you'll be pleased to know there is no video surveillance equipment in your apartment." 'Its not lying, I said video.' Misato took this in, and made her decision. 'This is someone I can work with.'  
"Well then, since we're on the same team, how well can you handle having 3 additional pilots to protect?" Mike's reply was easy. "Not a problem, I figured that this would be coming. The change over for Hikari's protection to 4th detachment is taken care of." Misato raised an eyebrow, and Mike elaborated. "Jiro is in the class of personnel who's relations are protected, when Hikari and Nozomi got bumped up to pilot candidate and reserve publicly-" Misato immediately interrupted. "What do you mean Nozomi?" Mike stared at Misato for an entire second.'wow she gets in your face fast.' "Nozomi Horaki, younger sibling of Hikari, if Hikari is compatible with a given Evangelion, Nozomi provides a backup in case she is killed. It's in the paperwork." Mike's tone ran into disgust at the word backup, a sentiment Misato shared. "That is pretty cold, but it does make a horrible kind of sense." That brought up her next question.  
"You've been in place for longer then I have here, what do you think they will do with the offer?" Mike sifted through the experience he had with the three of them. "Toji could easily be drafted by offering medical help for his sister Mari." Misato decided that there was something monstrous about Harmon. "Likewise, if we simply point out to Hikari that in a sense it is her responsibility, since she is one of the few that can pilot, she will do it. Using Nozomi being a pilot instead would be a fairly good way to retain her if she reacts badly." Misato's mind was icy. 'How can he just reel off this kind of thing about children he has known for years?' "As for Kensuke, It's a balancing act. He's a serious wannabe, but considering what happened with Shinji, it could be harder to get him on board. Retention is also an issue, given how much he thinks it would just be Gundam with bloodstains." Mike could tell that his honest evaluations had strained his relations with Misato. 'People don't like hearing the truth. Can't blame her really.' "How convenient that three more class A candidates were in class 2-A along with Shinji and Rei." Misato immediately saw what he actually meant. "Definitely, almost as if some greater power then NERV arranged it." Mike's joke was not at all funny. "Oh I would not put it past the commander-" Misato's blood chilled at that thought. "-after all, rumor has it he can raise the dead and count to infinity twice." Work done with, Mike stood up to depart. 'Oh wait! Damn I must be getting too old for this.' Turning at the door, he asked.  
"Oh, could you arrange some time for me to see Akagi? I have some paperwork for her." The shared grin between them restores the balance.

* * *

Jiro was tired, but happy. Hearing what had happened to his daughter after the fact left him little time for panic. All that mattered to him was that Misato had made the right call, he didn't care that tomorrow he had the nightmare task of fixing Unit 01's damage. 'Hell I don't even care that this new EUD ruined all the armor connections, Hikari is safe.'  
On the porch, Hikari was busy screwing up her courage, staring at her new NERV ID, and its Clearance level equal to her fathers. 'This is it, my chance to prove I'm father's partner and finally know what's been eating him up inside.' But the listing of occupation on the ID was also visible 'But Reserve Eva Pilot? What would mother want me to do? What would mom do if she had the chance?' With this on her mind, Hikari opened the door and announced she was home. Only Jiro's welcome greeted her in return. 'No putting it off then.' The moment Jiro saw his daughter walking in the controlled way she used to push through something hard, he become worried  
"Hikari, are you going to be alright?" Clutching a NERV ID like a brand, Hikari replied  
"Father, I have clearance equal to yours now." Her controlled tone broke at last, and she asked. "So now can you tell me what's wrong? Please Jiro." Struck again, and with no excuse this time Jiro had to spill it. "I was afraid they would want you to pilot." Hikari was stopped cold, but her father's dam had burst he simply could not stop. "Tokaido said it wouldn't happen, talked about how they had better candidates, pointed out that Kodama was never even synch tested. But. . ." Jiro hesitated, 'No, she doesn't need to know that.' "But Hikari-" Jiro faced her even with the tears in his eyes. "you saw what happens, saw what those monsters do to their pilots." 'She's always been the sensible one, she will know better.' Hikari stood on a precipice, and she could see no way down, so she asked. "If mom where still here, do you think she would let me pilot?" Jiro hesitated. 'I was the one that said stay, I had faith. She wanted to leave, but she was still convinced they would let us go because they didn't need them.' He gritted his teeth mentally. 'I have to lie to her! If she climbs into one of those monsters, and she dies, they'll come for Nozomi next!' Seeing her father unable to answer her, Hikari quietly asked. "If it were mom, would you have let her pilot?" The crushed cast of her stance, the utter despair in her voice, the total inadequacy in her eyes, Jiro couldn't do it to her. 'Hikari measures herself against Tokaido, she always has.' Finally he spoke. "I know your mother would have piloted. If your mother was here now, she would have let you pilot. Your mother believed in what NERV was created to do more then I do." Hikari's relief at her father's words was deeper then he could realize. 'I don't have to go against mother's wishes. I don't have to choose between my responsibility's to my family, and to humanity!' "I'm glad, because they want to employ me as a backup pilot until enough Eva's arrive." Jiro looked at the ID Hikari handed him. "Hikari, why?" Hikari, his daughter, his little girl, uttered her last words then.  
"This is a responsibility. We are the only ones who can. I will not let what happened to Mari happen to Nozomi!" So Jiro said his first words to Hikari, the young woman who was his daughter. "Your mother would be proud." The next day, for the first time since she had started attending school, Hikari was tardy for class having spent the rest of the night talking with Jiro as an equal.

* * *

On the route from school to the Aida residence, the Section 2 temp detail assigned to Kensuke was confused. Kensuke had seemed distracted, not even looking at the paperwork, and they had already had to stop him from trying to cross a street while cars were traveling once. Their young charge wandered into a park, and settled onto a bench at last. Staring at the ID.

'This is my ID.' The statement seemed like one to be made in a dream even as Kensuke thought it. 'Isn't this what I've always wanted?' The dream of falling into the cockpit of a giant mecha and saving the world. He adjusted his glasses to try and focus again. 'But-' The nightmare, the memory, both blended together until Kensuke could not tell which was which. 'Its been six years. I'm over it. There was nothing I could have done.' But that was the problem, there was nothing she could have done either. Being trapped like that, not even able to focus your eyes. . . Again the moment when Shinji's arm had gone limp, lifeless in an instant as the Eva's arm was carved off played before his eyes. 'Maya told me it's temporary, Shinji will be able to use it by next week at the latest' But she had also said that it could be permanent. 'So I just wont get hit like that, or I wont get a high synch ratio.' But the thoughts rang hollow, and the whirlpool of his thoughts closed in on that single memory, and the doctors words. Kensuke hunched over, opened up his laptop, and hid his tears behind it.

His section 2 temp detail eventually reported him in his residence, but could not account for the stay in the park.

* * *

Toji arrived home as if it had been any other day, dumping the NERV information on the table. Heading to the kitchen to fix the dinner he always had, he was operating on muscle memory. The answering machine played today's iteration of his father saying he would not be home until late as usual. He glared at it for a moment. ' Yoshiyama, I respect you as my father, but your lousy at apologizing' A moment of humor glinted. 'He needs to take lessons from Shinji.' Then the message he had heard daily for the last six months played. "Toji,-" his fathers wearied voice spoke. "Kazuo's funeral is today, I cant make it. Please, take Mari even if she doesn't want to go. Its important." The details that followed where meaningless to Toji now. 'If it was so important to you, then you would have shown up to grandfathers funeral.' But this was an argument that suddenly felt tired, rather then familiar and comforting, as if someone had filled in the ruts he had worn in his mind. 'NERV. Father works in intelligence because it's the right thing to do.' Even as he set the stove to bring the water to a boil on time, Toji found himself applying fresh eyes to the pictures hanging on the walls, and the words hanging in his memory.  
"Your mother was the most honorable person I have ever met." Fathers reverent tone was reserved for a very few things. "When she hunted me down, it was because that was the honorable thing to do. What your mother saw in an honor less corporate embezzler like me I don't think I'll ever understand." Unable to sit still, Toji went out to the back, where the basketball hoop he had set up with his father stood. Between throws his mind forged a new path through familiar territory "That's why I hunt them down now. It sucks up my life, but this is the only way I can administer justice the traditional way. NERV let your mother and I hunt them down and put them out of the worlds misery." Of all his school subjects, it had been history which had been easy. It's not hard to understand an ironclad code of honor when you grow up in one. Toji missed a shot, and as he tracked it down to pick it up, Mari's taunt rang in his ears. 'Try again brother!' he stopped, bent over to pick it up, and straightened instead. 'Mari.' The nightmares had come, and he had been disgusted at how grateful he was that Mari was not home to hear him wake up screaming. 'I think I actually prefer the one where I show up at school naked and Hikari kills me with chalk' Looking out into the waning sunlight, the damage to the hill was visible 'What would mother think of me piloting one of those things?' She had always been the physical one, while father had called out directions over the radio, or dug up files. 'How did mother say it?' It was tickling at his brain, and Toji headed back inside to scratch the itch of memory. The massive imprint of the chunk of barrier that had sliced through their neighbors house stood out to him. 'I can't just let this go, that could have been Hikari's house.' The image of Hikari on that creepy chair, screaming in pain as her arm went limp was all too real. He climbed to the attic 'I know it's up here.' Behind the boxes of his mothers clothes, past the guitar case he had not touched in years, it was there, on it's stand, the family treasure. 'The samurai where their lord's swords, they went before them.' His mother had said it to him when he found the ancient Wakizashi in the attic 'Your father gave this to me for our anniversary' she had said. The note it had come with was still there, and he read it again. 'Kei, you always go before me. It's been your honor, your commitment, that made this family possible. You made this have meaning again, you taught me to see that meaning. Most especially, you keep teaching our children it's meaning. Since you taught me that honor and love are thicker then blood, I thought it fitting that you have this.' It had made little sense to him at the time he first heard it. 'Father tracked the paper trail for months, from the pawnbroker to that private collector. But in the end, he got our family's blade back, not with money, but with the truth of why he wanted it back.' It had been his grandfather's favorite story to bore him and Mari with. "You told me that the lesson was that you define for yourself who you are." 'So then, who am I?' It took him a moment. "I am going to be the best there ever was, I'll keep Mari and Hikari safe. By my blade the messengers of heaven will be torn asunder." For an instant, he felt like the king of the world, then the timer rang on dinner. 'I can't believe I said that out loud, I must sound like a crazy old man.' Shaking his head, Toji headed down stairs to his dinner and some rest and relaxation.

* * *

Author Notes:  
As an example of the subtlety pronoun choise and honorific can produce, he is that last major sentence again.

"I(_Sessha)_ am going to be the best there ever was, I will keep Mari(-kun) and Hikari(-Gozen) safe. By my blade you(_Unu_ _)_ messengers of heaven will be torn asunder."

_Onore (An extremely insulting word for "you". )_  
_Unu _(Similar to _onore_, it's also either very insulting or very archaic; rarely heard.)  
-_Gozen_ (Indicates nobility; most commonly applied to women.)

_Sessha_ ("This humble, unworthy, clumsy fool". This one is 16th Century formal courtly Japanese)  
-_Kun _a familaral term, for siblings or close friends.

From this point forward, it is to be understood that first and last name useage means different things. In example: "Ayanami" would be the formal, correct honorific,(such as -San, -Han) while "Rei" would be a highly familiar honorific or one which mentions a personal relation. (such as -Kun, -Chan, or in a more formal context, -Senpai, -Kohai, and as used once in this chapter -Sensei) Language is the very material from which authors create, so when one is working with native speakers of another culture as charicters, this can become a problem. However, the unique opportunity offered by a Freudian slip on Shinji's part was just to good to pass up. Similarly, Toji's odd use of a honorific that basically translates as 'Noblewoman' is meant to serve as a hint to his charicter and view of the world.

As an added bonius, I have found the perfict OP music to this series. Unbreakable Chain by Dream Evil.

Episode Teaser:  
The world has changed, the wheels of fate are turning, but questions and hard decisions remain. Look forward to our complex next two episodes, 'Normal?' And 'Higher Learning'.

I hope these ~15,000 words prove that this is something worth waiting for, finally, a shout out to my two prereaders for their great work. Crazael, and Dragonseige both helped get this on track.


End file.
